Middle East conflict: Israel’s “limited operations” – concerns about ground offensive

According to the US government, Israel has informed Washington about limited military operations on the Lebanese border. Israel said these were “limited operations” focused on “Hezbollah’s infrastructure near the border,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. He did not want to comment on details. It was not clear whether this meant the first smaller and limited ground operations on the Lebanese side of the border, as some media interpreted this.

According to US media reports, Israel is planning a limited ground offensive in Lebanon. This could begin within hours, the Washington Post and CBS reported, citing a US government official. US President Joe Biden did not directly confirm the reports in an exchange with journalists.

Previously, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli special forces had already made small, targeted advances into the south of Lebanon. The Israeli army has not yet commented on this. According to the unconfirmed report, the aim of the advances was to prepare a possible ground offensive.

The military declares several areas in northern Israel to be restricted areas

Several areas in northern Israel were declared restricted military areas on Monday evening. These areas are not allowed to be entered, according to a military spokesman on the orders of the northern command of the Israeli troops. These are the areas near Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi near the Lebanese border.

An army spokesman had previously spoken of exercises as part of the troops’ increased combat readiness. In the afternoon, Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant said the next phase of the fight against Hezbollah would begin soon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet also met on Monday.

The conflict between Israel and the Shiite Hezbollah militia, which has been going on for almost a year, has recently escalated. The Israeli military has been carrying out massive attacks in Lebanon for days. Hundreds of people were killed. Israel had previously declared the return of refugee Israelis to their hometowns in the north of the country as another goal in the Gaza war.

Hezbollah has also been firing hundreds of rockets at Israel every day since the intense fighting that has flared up again. After the Gaza war broke out, the militia opened its so-called “Solidarity Front” and fired thousands of rockets into Israel. She doesn’t want to lay down her weapons until the war in the Gaza Strip ends.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese fled their villages and cities. Many are waiting in the capital Beirut and, due to the lack of accommodation, are sometimes sleeping on mattresses on the coastal promenade of the Mediterranean city. The latest escalation is likely to bring back memories of the last war between Israel and Hezbollah 18 years ago for many of the country’s approximately nine million residents.

Israel’s defense minister alludes to ground operations

Israel’s Defense Minister Joav Galant alluded to a possible ground operation in Lebanon on Monday. The killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was an important step, “but not everything,” said Galant during a troop visit to the northern border. “We will use all our skills.”

The aim remains to enable the return of 60,000 Israelis who have been driven out of areas along the border by Hezbollah attacks for months. They are prepared to “make every effort” to achieve this and deploy troops in the air, at sea and on the ground.

Hezbollah launches ground offensive: We are ready

For the first time since Nasrallah’s killing, the leadership of the Islamist militia spoke out and signaled their willingness to fight. “We know the fight could be long and are prepared for all possibilities,” Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Kassim said in a televised speech. “If Israel decides to launch a ground offensive: we are ready.” He did not say who would lead Hezbollah.

On Friday, Israel’s army killed the general secretary of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in the south of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Many other leadership members were also killed. Nevertheless, Hezbollah recently continued its attacks on Israel.

UN: 100,000 already fled from Lebanon to Syria

Meanwhile, the humanitarian emergency in Lebanon is worsening. According to the UN, around 100,000 people have already fled to Syria since the massive Israeli air strikes began. 60 percent are Syrians who once sought refuge in Lebanon, 40 percent are Lebanese, reported the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Geneva.

In view of the worsening situation in Lebanon, an air force plane flew embassy staff out of the Lebanese capital Beirut. According to the Foreign Office, there were around 110 passengers on board the Bundeswehr machine. The plane landed in Berlin at the capital’s BER airport in the evening, as a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office confirmed.

Netanyahu warns Iranians: Israel reaches every place in the Middle East

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Iranian people in a video message. He emphasized that there was no place in the Middle East that his country could not reach. “Ask Mohammed Deif. Ask Nasrallah,” he said, referring to the targeted killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. There is no place where Israel would not go “to protect our people and our land.” The government in Tehran is bringing the Iranian population “closer to the abyss” every day.

At the same time, Netanyahu found conciliatory words for the Iranians, combined with the hope of a change of power in Tehran: “When Iran is finally free – and the moment is closer than people think – everything will be different,” he assured. “Two ancient peoples, the Jewish and the Persian, will finally be at peace.”

Hezbollah and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip belong to the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” a network supported by the leadership in Tehran in the fight against arch-enemy Israel.