Israel Launches Ground Invasion in Southern Lebanon

Israel has launched targeted ground operations in villages across southern Lebanon. This development confirms the earlier fears that Israel might initiate a ground invasion in Lebanon.

In a statement released on Tuesday (October 1), the Israeli military provided this information.

The statement from the Israeli military said that a ground operation targeting Hezbollah in Lebanese villages near the border began a few hours ago. The ground assault is being supported by airstrikes and shelling. However, the operation is described as limited, local, and focused on Hezbollah.

Former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv, "I truly hope we are talking about a limited ground operation. From past experience, we know it’s very hard to control. Even if the government is sincere about ending it quickly and achieving its main goals."

For the past two weeks, Israel has intensified airstrikes against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. These attacks have killed more than a thousand people in Lebanon.

For nearly a year, Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers have engaged in back-and-forth skirmishes along the border. However, the Netanyahu government recently announced its decision to shift the primary battleground from Gaza to Lebanon. Since that announcement, Israeli forces have carried out a series of devastating attacks in Lebanon.

Notably, last Friday, a Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut. Iran and Hezbollah have vowed revenge for his assassination. With Nasrallah’s death, Israel, now more confident, has initiated a ground invasion of Lebanon, raising the specter of a full-scale war between the two sides. This could result in even more deaths and displacement.