Israel Lebanon Conflict
Israeli military chief tells soldiers to prepare for ground invasion of Lebanon
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated significantly, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions for three consecutive days and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi indicating preparations for a potential ground invasion of Lebanon. The violence has resulted in over 615 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries in Lebanon, prompting international concern and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, including discussions between French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian leaders.
The situation has led to widespread displacement in southern Lebanon, as many flee to Beirut despite ongoing airstrikes. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a looming crisis, urging that Lebanon should not become another Gaza, amid the backdrop of a broader conflict ignited by Hezbollah’s support for Hamas following the latter’s attack on Israel on October 7.
Key Concepts
- Israeli fighter jets have targeted Hezbollah positions for three consecutive days amid rising tensions.
- IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has urged soldiers to prepare for a potential ground invasion of Lebanon.
- A ballistic missile attack by Hezbollah aimed at a Mossad headquarters was intercepted by Israel.
- The ongoing conflict has resulted in significant casualties, with 615 deaths and over 2,000 injuries reported in three days.
- U.S. President Joe Biden has warned of the risk of a wider war in the Middle East while advocating for a potential solution.
- Over 90,000 people have been displaced in southern Lebanon due to the violence, with many fleeing to Beirut.
- Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict included a meeting between French President Macron and Iranian President Pezeshkian.
- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has asserted Hezbollah’s resilience despite the loss of a commander.
- The U.N. Secretary-General has warned that Lebanon is on the brink of crisis and must not become another Gaza.
- The conflict escalated on October 7, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas amid ongoing violence in Gaza.
Israeli warplanes bombed Hezbollah targets for a third day on Wednesday, the same day that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Harzai Halevi told IDF troops to prepare for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon.
“You can hear the planes here,” Halevi told a tank brigade, according to a military statement. “We are attacking all day, both in preparation for your possible ground entry and to continue to fight Hezbollah.”
“We are not resting. We will continue to attack and injure them everywhere,” Halevy said. “For this reason, we are preparing for the course of operations, and our feeling is that your military footprint, your operational footprint, will enter enemy territory.”
The military chief spoke to his troops after Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile targeting the headquarters of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad near Tel Aviv. Israel shot down the missile, but Halevy warned: “Today, Hezbollah has expanded its firepower, and later today they will receive a strong response. Be prepared.”
Israel also said it had mobilized its reserve forces to respond to the battle with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Lebanese health officials said Israeli attacks killed another 50 people on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 615 in three days, and wounded more than 2,000.
President Joe Biden has warned of the possibility of a wider war in the Middle East.
“An all-out war is possible,” he told ABC talk show “The View.”
“I think the opportunity still exists to reach a solution that could fundamentally change the entire region,” he said. However, war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza has continued for nearly a year, and ceasefire talks have been deadlocked for months.
The United Nations says Israel’s offensive on southern Lebanon has displaced more than 90,000 people, with many trying to flee north to the capital, Beirut, although Israeli warplanes have also attacked some places in Beirut.
Israel launched heavy bombing in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Lebanon’s national news agency reported.
The Israeli military said its targets included dozens of ammunition depots and that it detected about 40 rockets fired by Hezbollah, some of which were intercepted by Israeli air defenses.
The escalating conflict on the Israel-Lebanon border was the focus of a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday.
Pope Francis said Wednesday he was saddened by the situation in Lebanon and said the international community needed to work to stop what he called “this terrible escalation.”
Diplomatic efforts to douse the fire and prevent an escalation of the regional conflict also included a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, in which they “emphasized Iran’s responsibility to overall reduce tensions and exert its influence on destabilizing factors,” his office said.
Iran is a backer of Hezbollah and the Hamas militant group fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s top commander would not bring the group to its knees.
“Hezbollah’s organizational strength and human resources are so strong that the killing of a senior commander will not be a serious blow to it, although it is obviously a loss,” Khamenei said.
Israel said its military killed Ibrahim Muhammad Kobeisi, whom Israel identified as a senior Hezbollah military commander in charge of the group’s missile systems, in a strike on a Beirut suburb on Tuesday.
The conflict has also prompted some governments to urge their citizens to leave Lebanon. The United States has announced it will send additional military personnel to bolster its existing presence in the region, while Britain said it expected 700 British troops to arrive in Cyprus on Wednesday to prepare for the evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon.
“We should all be wary of an escalation,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the General Assembly on Tuesday. “Lebanon is on the brink. The Lebanese people, the Israeli people, and the people of the world cannot allow Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
The Gaza war began on October 7 last year, when Hezbollah militants began firing rockets at Israel to show support for the Palestinians and their ally Hamas, which is also backed by Iran. Since then, exchanges of gunfire have continued between Israel and Hezbollah, and the fighting has killed dozens of people in Israel and hundreds in Lebanon and displaced thousands on both sides of the border.
The Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel last October, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. They still hold about 100 hostages, a third of whom are believed dead.
Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks have killed more than 41,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The Israeli military says the dead include thousands of Hamas fighters.
Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Britain, the European Union, and others. Hezbollah is also designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
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