Israel begins ‘ground invasion’ of Lebanon after Hezbollah missile and drone attacks

Israel has launched a ground operation in Lebanon against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Tuesday.

Katz said that the ground operation, which marks a major escalation in the ongoing US-Iran war that has already spread to several Gulf nations, is intended to destroy Hezbollah’s capabilities of “direct fire” on Israeli communities near the Lebanese border.

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Eyal Zamir, the Israel Defence Forces’ chief of staff, said that the military is conducting an “offensive campaign” against Hezbollah and that the operation may last several days.

“We have begun an offensive campaign against Hezbollah. We are not just on the defensive, now we go on the offensive,” he said. “We need to prepare for several days of fighting, many. We need strong defensive readiness and continuous offensive preparedness, in waves.”

The IDF has called an additional 100,000 troops up, and they have been sent to the country’s northern border. A defensive force of Israeli soldiers is already said to have been operating within Lebanese territory.

“We have positioned soldiers on the border area in additional strategic points to defend civilians from Hezbollah attacks,” an IDF spokesman said on Tuesday morning.

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Some of the Israeli soldiers are also operating in southern Lebanon as part of an enhanced presence.

An IDF spokesman said the troops had been sent into southern Lebanon “as part of an enhanced forward defence posture”. He stated that the move is not part of a wider ground invasion but a “tactical measure on the border”.

“The IDF is working to create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel,” the spokesman added.

The development comes days after Hezbollah joined Iran and launched attacks on Israel. The group said that the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

The group, often dubbed by the US and Israel as an Iranian terror proxy, used missiles and drones to hit Israeli military bases. However, strong Israeli defences neutralised most of the attacks.