Israel launches small ground strikes against Hezbollah as fighting intensifies | World News

However, a Western official, a diplomat in Cairo whose country is directly involved in de-escalation efforts, said an Israeli ground operation in Lebanon was imminent. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said Israel had communicated its plans to the United States and other Western allies and said the operation would be limited.

Since the war in Gaza began, there have been exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah almost daily. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in Israel and Lebanon. Israel says it will continue to attack Hezbollah until it is safe for Israelis displaced from border communities to return to their homes. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

It was not clear whether Israel had made a final decision on a broader ground operation in Lebanon.

Early Monday, Hezbollah vowed to keep fighting even after its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top officials were recently wiped out by Israeli strikes.

Israel's order to restrict entry and exit from the northern municipalities of Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi does not necessarily mean that Israeli troops will immediately invade Lebanon. Areas can also be declared military exclusion zones if an imminent threat is detected.

But the Israeli army has significantly increased its troops along the border with Lebanon in recent days, and its commanders have said they are ready to send troops if the government gives the order.

Chris Coyle, a resident of northern Israel, said the army had set up gates and checkpoints across the region in recent days and stationed numerous tanks along the border. They are definitely preparing to go in, he said.

In the nearby Golan Heights, an Associated Press reporter heard the sounds of Israeli artillery fire and explosions in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces also fired flares into Lebanon.

Israeli strikes have killed Nasrallah and six of his top commanders and officials over the past 10 days. According to the military, they have also attacked thousands of militant targets across large parts of Lebanon. According to the Health Ministry, over 1,000 people have been killed in the country in the last two weeks, almost a quarter of them women and children.

Early Monday, an airstrike hit a residential building in central Beirut, killing three Palestinian militants. Israel seemed to send a clear message that no part of Lebanon is off limits.

Despite the severe setback Hezbollah has suffered in recent weeks, acting leader Naim Kassem said in a televised statement that the group's fighters were ready should Israel decide to launch a ground offensive. He said the killed commanders had already been replaced.

Kassem, Nasrallah's longtime deputy, will remain in his post until the group's leadership chooses a replacement. The man widely expected to take the top job is Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah who oversees Hezbollah's political affairs.

Hezbollah's capabilities are unclear after a series of heavy strikes

Hezbollah has significantly increased its rocket attacks in the past week to several hundred per day, but most were intercepted or fell in open areas. Several people were injured in Israel. There have been no fatalities since two soldiers died near the border on September 19.

But Hezbollah's capabilities remain unclear.

Just two weeks ago, a strike like Monday's in central Beirut, outside the main areas where Hezbollah operates and near a busy transportation hub where buses and taxis normally ply, would have been viewed as, and likely to have resulted in, a major escalation protracted crisis. Range Hezbollah attack in Israel.

But the unspoken rules of the long-standing conflict no longer appear to be in force.

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.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a meeting with Israeli troops on Monday that Israel will use all capabilities at our disposal, hinting at a ground operation.

Some European countries began withdrawing their diplomats and citizens from Lebanon on Monday. Germany, which has been calling on its citizens to leave Lebanon since October 2023, 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, giving priority to families with children and vulnerable groups.

Over the past week, Israel has frequently attacked Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, including Friday's massive attack that killed Nasrallah. However, locations near the city center were not affected.

Monday's attack killed three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small left-wing faction that has not been significantly involved in the months-long fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack but is widely believed to have carried it out.

Also on Monday, Hamas announced that its top commander in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif, and his family were killed in an airstrike on the Al-Buss refugee camp in the southern port city of Tyre. The Israeli military confirmed it was targeting him.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Sharif was an employee and was placed on unpaid administrative leave in March as it investigated allegations about his political activities. Israel has accused the organization, known as UNRWA, of ties to Palestinian militant groups, while the agency says it is committed to neutrality and works to prevent such infiltration.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into northern Israel after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel from Gaza sparked the war in Palestinian territory. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies and are both supported by Iran. Hezbollah said it would continue attacks in solidarity with Palestinians until there was a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel responded to the rockets with airstrikes in Lebanon, and fighting has steadily escalated over the past year. The Lebanese government believes the fighting may have displaced up to a million people, although the UN estimate is around 200,000.

Tens of thousands of Israelis were also displaced. Israel has vowed to keep fighting until the attacks stop and its citizens can return home.

Israel shows little interest in calls for a ceasefire as it bleeds a long-time enemy

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.

France, which has close ties with Lebanon, has joined the United States in calling for a ceasefire. French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol 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 great responsibility in the current situation given its decision 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.

Hezbollah, which has tens of thousands of battle-hardened fighters and long-range missiles capable of hitting anywhere in Israel, has long been considered the most powerful militant group in the region and a key partner of Iran in threatening and deterring Israel.

But Hezbollah has never experienced an attack like this, which began with a sophisticated attack on its pagers and walkie-talkies in mid-September that killed dozens of people and injured around 3,000, including many fighters but also many civilians.