The Israeli military launched a “limited ground operation” in southern Lebanon with the goal of defeating Hezbollah. According to Israeli officials, Lebanon will not be subject to “long-term occupation.” However, they declined to specify a timetable.
Hezbollah declared that it started strikes against soldiers in northern Israel after the incursion. Following Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the Iran-backed group announced that it would to promptly elect a new leader and persist in its efforts to support the Palestinians in Gaza against Israel.
Israel’s security cabinet has referred to the incursion as the “next phase” of its war with Hezbollah. This is the fourth time in nearly 50 years that Israeli soldiers have publicly entered Lebanese soil, and the first since Israel’s 34-day war in the country in 2006.
Israel’s incursion is in direct opposition to the United States’ pressure to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. According to authorities, the war’s escalation has resulted in the displacement of one million people, the destruction of homes, and the deaths of over 1,000 in Lebanon.
