Almost a year after the beginning of Hezbollah's incessant fire at Israeli communities, the IDF is crossing the northern border. A short while later, the IDF Aerial Defense Array "intercepted a UAV over the Mediterranean Sea, dozens of kilometers off the coast of central Israel," IDF says.
According to the announcement, made by IDF spokesperson early Tuesday, IDF troops have begun limited, localized and targeted raids against Hezbollah terror targets in the border area of southern Lebanon.
"The raids are based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon. These targets are located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel."
Strengthening the defense along the line of contact and preparing for the next stages of combat: The commander of the Northern Command and the commanders of the divisions in approve plans and assess situation
The IDF says is operating according to a "methodical plan set out by the General Staff and the Northern Command which IDF soldiers have trained and prepared for in recent months. The Israeli Air Force and IDF Artillery are supporting the ground forces with precise strikes on military targets in the area."
"These operations were approved and carried out under the decision of the political echelon," he added. "Operation 'Northern Arrows' will continue according to the situational assessment and in parallel to combat in Gaza and in other arenas.
"The IDF is continuing to operate to achieve the goals of the war and is doing everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes."
Lebanese army has cleared positions along the border
Earlier on Monday, on the Saudi Al-Hadath network, a report said that there is "Israeli preparation for the entry of ground forces and commando forces, in order to locate Hezbollah targets and blow them up." Another Saudi network, Al-Arabiya reported that tanks penetrated Rmaich in southern Lebanon, but later deleted that report.
The IDF spokesman in Arabic, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, late Monday night called on the residents of the Dahieh district in Beirut to evacuate from buildings adjacent to three southern neighborhoods in Beirut: Al-Lilki, Harat Harikh and Borj El Brajneh. The message states that "You are near Hezbollah and IDF installations will act strongly against them. For your safety and the safety of your families, you must evacuate these buildings immediately and stay at least 500 meters away from them."
Residents of Kiryat Shmona and other localities in the area were called to stay near a protected area, against the backdrop of the dramatic developments, which come after the series of assassinations in Lebanon including Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
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Messages in Arabic from the IDF calling for residents of several southern Beirut neighborhoods to evacuate
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
According to reports in Lebanon, the Lebanese army has cleared positions along the border and videos have been published of the withdrawal of troops from border posts to some neighboring villages.
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri was the first politician to allude to the ground move when he posted on Twitter the prayer for the welfare of IDF soldiers.
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Moshe Solomon (Religious Zionism) added to this when, before an official announcement in Israel, he tweeted: "Congratulations to the security forces for starting the ground maneuver." Solomon later deleted the tweet. Omer Dostri, the prime minister's spokesman, wrote in the government ministers' WhatsApp group: "Do not refer to anything related to Lebanon."
A U.S. official told the Washington Post earlier Monday that Israel was preparing to launch a ground attack in Lebanon imminently, but it is expected to be limited. "Israel’s planned campaign would be smaller than its last war against Hezbollah in 2006 and would focus on clearing out terrorist infrastructure along the border to remove the threat to Israeli border communities," the source said. The report came as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that "the next phase will begin soon."
Another U.S. told the CBS news network that Israel has informed the U.S. that it intends to begin the ground maneuver phase, and that it "may take place within hours." At the same time, U.S. President Joe Biden called for a cease-fire. When asked if he "feels comfortable" with Israel's plan, he said: “I’m more worried than you might know and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now.”
The New York Times cited U.S. officials who said that they believe they have succeeded in convincing Israel not to launch a major ground attack in Lebanon, after long talks held over the weekend. In the United States, signs were detected that Israel intended to launch a maneuver in Lebanon and that it could come soon.
Special units in the IDF have already carried out such raids in recent days, in order to remove combat positions from which Hezbollah planned to target the northern settlements.
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IDF tanks on the border with Lebanon earlier on Monday
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
According to the report, officials in Israel assured their counterparts in the United States that they do not plan for these raids to lead to a major attack by ground forces with the aim of occupying parts of southern Lebanon. The American officials said that they estimate that the commando units will withdraw immediately after the operations is over. However, according to the report, it is still unclear whether this is the final Israeli decision and if there is still a possibility of a large-scale attack.
Another hint that the incursion could happen at any moment was given by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who met Monday with mayors of Israeli northern border communities. In a conversation with them, Gallant said that "the next stage in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon; it will be a significant factor in changing the security situation and will allow us to complete the important mission of returning the residents to their homes."
Earlier Monday, Gallant met with armored fighters on the northern border, and gave another hint when he told them: "The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the end. In order to return the residents of the north, we will use all our capabilities, including you."
First published: 23:06, 09.30.24