The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on social media that it was conducting "targeted and localized ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure" in villages near the Israel-Lebanon border.
The Israel Defense Forces said the ground operation in Lebanon targeted targets "located in villages near the border and posing a direct threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel".
Israel's ground campaign in Lebanon will be supported by airstrikes and artillery that have been in the works for months. The IDF has not said how long the campaign will last.
"The IDF continues to operate to achieve the objectives of the war and is doing everything necessary to protect the people of Israel and return the people of northern Israel to their homes," the statement stressed.
This is a significant escalation in Israel's conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
The decision to send troops into Lebanon opens a new phase of the conflict and comes after a heavy Israeli bombing of southern Beirut on September 27 that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israeli airstrikes were in response to Hezbollah's cross-border campaign of attacks on Israel, which began a day after its ally Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have also killed several other senior Hezbollah figures and damaged the group’s weapons stockpiles, dealing a heavy blow to the Lebanon-based force. Hundreds more have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and many more have been displaced.
