Israeli tanks had been assembling close to the border with Lebanon for several days in advance of the ground incursion — EPA BEIRUT, Oct 01 (BBC/AFP): Israel has launched what it has described as "limited, localised and targeted ground raids" in southern Lebanon, marking an escalation in its continuing offensive against Hezbollah.
Lebanese civilians are being warned not to use vehicles to travel south across the Litani river, which is 20 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the operation is aimed at the Iran-backed group's "infrastructure", which it says poses "an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel".
Hezbollah's deputy leader said the group was prepared for any Israeli operation inside Lebanon.
The group said it targeted Israeli troops with a "rocket barrage" on the Israeli town of Metula and the Avivim area, close to the Lebanon border.
Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant earlier implied the army was ready for a ground operation, telling troops near the Lebanese border Israel was prepared to use forces "from the air, sea and land" to target Hezbollah.
In a statement posted on X at 02:00 local time on Tuesday morning, the IDF confirmed troops had moved across the border following a build-up of tanks and other armour in northern Israel.
The Lebanese army is pulling back troops stationed on its southern border to at least 5km (3 miles) north, according to Reuters news agency, which cited a Lebanese security source.
On Monday, Gallant told Israeli troops at the border that Israel's military would use all "the means at our disposal" to allow displaced people to return home in the north of the country.
In a short video, he said the "elimination" of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Friday "is a very important step, but it is not everything".
He added that "everything that needs to be done - will be done" and that "we will use all the forces from the air, sea and land".
The Israeli government has pledged to make it safe for tens of thousands of its citizens to return to their homes after nearly a year of cross-border fighting, which began with Hezbollah firing rockets at the start of the war in Gaza.
The Lebanese armed group - which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the US, UK and other countries - is known to have extensive tunnel networks as well as bunkers and other military infrastructure just over the border from Israel.
Hezbollah's deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group - which is thought to have tens of thousands of well-trained fighters - was ready for an Israeli ground offensive. He described their attacks on Israel so far as the "minimum", adding that the battle could be long.
Hezbollah - which is backed by Iran - has experienced mass casualties from exploding pagers and walkie-talkies, a wave of assassinations of its military commanders and devastating air strikes which have killed civilians, as well as the use of bunker-busting bombs in Beirut, which killed the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday.
Israel must 'immediately'
withdraw troops from
Lebanon, says Russia
Russia urged Israel to "immediately" pull its troops out of southern Lebanon on Tuesday, after the Israeli military began what it called "limited" raids against Hezbollah militants in the area.
"Russia strongly condemns the attack on Lebanon and calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately cease hostilities, withdraw their troops from Lebanese territory and engage in a real search for peaceful ways to resolve the Middle East conflict," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
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