What you should know as Israel launches a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon

JERUSALEM – Israeli ground forces entered southern Lebanon early Tuesday, marking a significant escalation of an offensive against Hezbollah militants and opening a new front in a year-long war against their Iran-backed opponents.

The incursion follows weeks of heavy Israeli strikes against Hezbollah – including an airstrike that killed its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah – and is intended to increase pressure on the group, which began firing rockets into northern Israel after the start of the Gaza war to fire. The last time Israel and Hezbollah fought ground combat was a month-long war in 2006.

Read more: Israeli tanks mass on the border with Lebanon as fears of a ground invasion grow

The Israeli military said in a brief statement it had begun “limited, localized and targeted ground strikes” against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

“These targets are located in villages near the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel,” it said.

There was no word on how long the operation would last, but the Army said soldiers had been training and preparing for the deployment over the past few months. Israel has said it will continue to attack the group until displaced Israelis from border communities can safely return to their homes.

Ahead of Israel’s announcement, U.S. officials said Israel had launched small ground strikes in Lebanon and Israel declared three small border communities a “military exclusion zone” with access restricted only to army personnel.

There were no reports of direct clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. But throughout the evening, Israeli artillery units shelled targets in southern Lebanon and airstrikes were heard throughout Beirut.

Smoke rose from the capital’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, shortly after Israel ordered residents of three buildings to evacuate.

Israel is entering a risky phase of fighting

Israel, emboldened by its recent battlefield successes against Hezbollah, appears eager to deliver a decisive blow to its arch-enemy. But a ground operation marks a new and potentially risky phase in the fighting. It also threatens to unleash further devastation in Lebanon, where recent Israeli attacks have killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands.

Hezbollah is a well-trained militia believed to have tens of thousands of fighters and an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles. The last round of fighting in 2006 ended in a stalemate.

Both sides have spent the last two decades preparing for their next showdown. While Hezbollah has built an impressive arsenal, Israel has invested heavily in training and intelligence gathering.

Recent airstrikes that wiped out much of Hezbollah’s leadership and the explosions of hundreds of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies suggest that Israel has penetrated deep into the group’s upper echelons.

Read more: “It sounded like shots.” Fear grips Lebanon after deadly pager and radio explosions

Hezbollah vowed on Monday to continue fighting even after its recent losses. The group’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, said in a televised statement that Hezbollah was ready for a ground operation. He said commanders killed in recent weeks had already been replaced.

The man widely expected to take over Kassem’s top job is Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah who oversees Hezbollah’s political affairs.

Israel is shifting its attention from Gaza to Lebanon

Israeli attacks in recent weeks have hit thousands of militant targets across large parts of Lebanon, according to the military. According to the Health Ministry, over 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the past two weeks, almost a quarter of them women and children.

An airstrike hit a residential building in central Beirut early Monday, killing three Palestinian militants, as Israel appeared to send a message that no part of Lebanon was off limits.

After Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage, Israel declared war on the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip. According to local health authorities, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and just over half of the dead were women and children.

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8 in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group.

Since then, there have been exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah almost daily. They came close to full-scale war several times, but shrank back from the abyss.

Read more: The coming Israel-Hezbollah war

But as Israel’s war against Hamas has receded in recent weeks, it has turned its focus north to Lebanon and stepped up attacks on Hezbollah.

Israeli leaders say they want Hezbollah to implement the U.S. resolution that ended the 2006 war and required the group to withdraw about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the Israeli border.

Serious setbacks for Hezbollah

Hezbollah has suffered serious setbacks in recent weeks. Before Nasrallah’s assassination, a series of mysterious pager and walkie-talkie explosions attributed to Israel left hundreds dead or injured, including many Hezbollah members. And Israeli airstrikes killed most of the group’s senior commanders.

But Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets and rockets into Israel and is still believed to have thousands of fighters stationed near Israel’s border.

Read more: Hezbollah and Israel are staring into the abyss

Israeli leaders have for years accused Hezbollah of hiding weapons and fighters in homes and other civilian structures in border villages. Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have fled southern Lebanon in recent weeks amid fears of an Israeli military attack.

Hezbollah has few air defense systems, giving the Israeli Air Force freedom of action over Lebanese skies. However, a ground operation will be much more challenging if Hezbollah forces are embedded and hiding in local communities and familiar with the local terrain.

Still, Hezbollah’s capabilities remain unclear. It is possible that Hezbollah is holding back to conserve resources for a larger fight. But the militant group could also be in turmoil after Israeli intelligence appeared to have penetrated the highest levels.

Some European countries began withdrawing their diplomats and citizens from Lebanon on Monday. Germany sent a military plane to evacuate relatives of diplomats and others. Bulgaria sent a government jet to get the first group of its citizens out.

Israel has a long and bloody history in Lebanon. In 1978 there was a brief attack on Palestinian militants. In 1982, a new invasion occurred in an operation that led to an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon.

The increased crackdown on Hezbollah could also raise the risk of a larger regional war as Israel faces a range of enemies backed by arch-enemy Iran.

Israel carried out an airstrike against the Houthi militia in Yemen this week in response to a series of rocket attacks. Netanyahu has also threatened Iran and warned the government in Tehran that Israel is capable of attacking anywhere in the Middle East.

The United States and its allies have called for a ceasefire in hopes of avoiding further escalation that could attract Iran and trigger a wider war. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed little interest because his country has military successes against a long-time enemy.

Read more: Exclusive: Netanyahu at war

France, which has close ties with Lebanon, has joined the United States in calling for a ceasefire. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called on Israel to refrain from a ground offensive during his visit to Beirut on Monday.

Barrot also called on Hezbollah to cease fire on Israel, saying the group bears “a great responsibility in the current situation since it has decided to enter the conflict.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said after a meeting with Barrot that the country was committed to an immediate ceasefire, followed by the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south, in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended but never ended the 2006 war was fully implemented.

– Sewell reported from Beirut and Lee reported from Washington.