Israel Says It Has Begun ‘Targeted’ Ground Raids In Lebanon

Israel said it had begun “targeted ground raids” in southern Lebanon, escalating a campaign to root out Hezbollah despite international appeals for restraint.

The Israel Defense Forces said early Tuesday its forces are striking targets “located in villages close to the border” that “pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.”

The attacks further expanded the campaign against the Iran-backed organization following Israel’s killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday, even as the US, the European Union and Arab powers call for a cease-fire. Israel has shifted its focus to Lebanon with its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip at a standstill.

An IDF statement on X said the ground operations were carried out based on “precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”

Israel struck the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, located near the southern city of Sidon, early Tuesday, Lebanese media reported. Its fighter jets and drones also targeted a “number of points” in Syria’s capital, Damascus, killing three civilians, wounding nine others and causing “significant damage” to property, the state-run SANA news agency reported. 

Israeli airstrikes continued on Monday, with the IDF reporting earlier that one had destroyed a “surface-to-air missile launcher storage facility” near Beirut’s international airport.

Washington had expected Israel to launch a limited ground incursion into Lebanon but has cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against a larger and longer-term operation that risks a direct confrontation with Tehran, according to a US official with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing strategy.