Israel launches ‘limited’ ground operation in Lebanon

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Israel has launched a “limited” ground operation in southern Lebanon, its military said in the early hours of Tuesday morning, capping a devastating escalation against Hizbollah during which it has dealt a series of debilitating blows to the Iran-backed militant group.

In the past two weeks, Israel has assassinated Hizbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, decimated its chain of command and launched an overwhelming bombing campaign that has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, and displaced as many as 1mn.

“A few hours ago, the Israel Defense Forces began limited, localised, and targeted ground raids” against Hizbollah in the border area in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said in a brief statement.

The operation, which follows small-scale Israeli incursions into the Lebanese side of the border in recent days, is Israel’s first land offensive against its northern neighbour since 2006, when it fought a 34-day war with Hizbollah that ended in a stalemate.

This is a developing story