What you should know about Iran’s rocket fire and Israel’s ground operations in Lebanon

Iran fired at least 180 rockets into Israel on Tuesday evening, causing isolated damage and fires from falling shrapnel. However, according to the Israeli authorities, there were no injuries. An Israeli security official said most of the rockets were intercepted but some were able to land.

Israeli officials said Iran would pay a price for the attack.

The rocket attack came after Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon in what the military described as a limited operation to destroy Hezbollah militants and their infrastructure.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it had seen no signs of Israeli forces and that its troops were ready to confront them.

Israel said its invasion would focus on the narrow strip of land just across the border. However, it also issued evacuation warnings for more of Lebanon, raising fears that a large-scale ground invasion would soon occur.

In recent days, a wave of Israeli airstrikes have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders and forced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from their homes. Israel says a ground operation is now needed to return tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to their homes in the north, who have been under sustained rocket fire from Hezbollah since October 8.

Here’s what we know:

Why did Iran fire missiles at Israel?

The Israeli military said it identified 180 missiles fired by Iran shortly after 7:30 p.m. Sirens wailed across the country and Israelis were ordered to remain in protected areas. An Israeli security official said the Israeli Air Force, working with the United States, intercepted many of the missiles, although there were some direct hits that damaged buildings and started some fires.

U.S. and British officials later said Iran fired about 200 missiles.

Iran said the missiles were in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard General Abbas Nilforushan, both of whom were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last week. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader who was assassinated in a suspected Israeli attack in Tehran in July. It warned that this attack represented only a “first wave,” without elaborating.

In April, Iran launched more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles at Israel. Most were intercepted outside Israel. A girl was injured by falling shrapnel.

Israel vowed to respond by moving the two arch-enemies closer to direct confrontation and the region closer to fuller war.

What type of missiles did Iran use in the attack?

Iranian state media described the country using multiple types of ballistic missiles in its attack on Israel. These included the Emad and Ghadr missiles as well as Iran’s new Fattah missile.

Officials claimed last year that the Fattah, “conqueror” in Farsi, traveled at 15 times the speed of sound and had a range of up to 1,400 kilometers (870 miles). Tuesday’s attack was the first time Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed they fired Fattah missiles in anger.

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However, the question remains as to how maneuverable the rocket is when it returns to the atmosphere to hit a target. The more irregular the missile’s trajectory, the more difficult it will be to intercept. Missile experts analyzing footage of rocket remnants recovered after the attack suggested that the Fattah had been used.

Have Israeli troops invaded Lebanon?

Israeli troops entered Lebanon late Monday, the military said, although it was unclear whether they remained there or moved in and out of the country.

In a surprise announcement, Israel said Tuesday that its ground forces have been operating covertly in Lebanon for a year, carrying out dozens of small-scale ground operations. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the army spokesman, said the current raid was an expansion of those activities.

The Lebanese army and UNIFIL, a UN peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon, have not confirmed that Israeli troops crossed the border, although UNIFIL said it had been informed.

How far are Israeli ground troops in Lebanon?

A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity as part of briefing guidelines, said Israeli ground forces were “within a few minutes’ walk” of the border and were targeting small Lebanese villages hundreds of meters (yards) from Israeli territory.

According to the military, Hezbollah fighters remain in the area despite heavy Israeli bombing in recent weeks. They are said to be using the areas to launch attacks on Israel and stockpile weapons.

Have there been clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops?

There were no signs of ground fighting in southern Lebanon and the Israeli official said there had been no clashes with Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, cross-border fire continued. Hezbollah said it attacked groups of soldiers in several Israeli border areas with artillery fire and rockets. Israel said no soldiers were injured. At the same time, Israeli artillery units shelled targets in southern Lebanon and airstrikes were heard throughout Beirut.

Hezbollah fired a rare volley of rockets into central Israel on Tuesday, wounding one man, Israeli medics said.

How extensive is the planned operation?

Israel has not given a timetable for how long the incursion will last and declined to say how far the troops will advance.

The military official said a march on Beirut, as Israel did in its 1982 invasion of Lebanon, was “not on the table.” At the time, the Israeli invasion was also portrayed as a limited raid to push back the Palestine Liberation Organization.

He added that the operation at its current stage did not reflect Israeli ground attacks in Gaza, where the military entered cities with heavy manpower, artillery and tanks.

That could change depending on whether the Israeli government decides to launch a more comprehensive ground operation. In recent days, numerous military forces, including numerous tanks, have been gathering along the border.

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The troops who entered Lebanon were from the 98th Division, the military said. The division is responsible for some of the heaviest fighting in the Gaza Strip and includes elite units that specialize in attacks behind enemy lines.

Meanwhile, Israel is expanding its evacuation warnings in southern Lebanon, sending hundreds of thousands of Lebanese fleeing the south.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman urged residents of villages north of a United Nations-declared buffer zone to flee. According to a UN resolution that ended the war in 2006, the zone was to be controlled by a UN peacekeeping force and the Lebanese military.