‘Special ops go into Lebanon, invasion imminent’
Israeli special forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon ahead of a possible ground invasion that could come as early as this week.
The Lebanese Army has retreated from the border area with Israel as the Israeli Defence Forces begin shelling ahead of an imminent ground invasion.
Lebanese troops pulled back five km from the border, amid unconfirmed reports Israeli boots were already on the ground.
Earlier, as the IDF closed the border area, Israel warned Washington a ground invasion “could come within hours.”
Israeli special forces had been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon ahead of a possible ground invasion.
The raids, which have included entering Hezbollah tunnels along the border, are part of a broader effort to degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities, sources said.
The timing of an invasion could change, with Israel under pressure from the US to hold back.
Amir Avivi, a former senior Israeli military official who continues to be briefed by the defence establishment, told the Wall Street Journal an invasion was imminent. “The IDF has made a lot of preparations for a ground incursion,” he said. “Overall, this always includes special operations. This is part of the process.”
His comments followed reports that Israel was massing hundreds of Merkava IV tanks, armoured bulldozers and recovery vehicles near its border with Lebanon.
Fears of a ground invasion came as Israel warned its enemies that “no place is too far” after it unleashed an aerial bombardment of Houthi-controlled ports and power plants, with dozens of fighter jets and refuelling aircraft flying 1700km to destroy the targets in Yemen.
As if to reinforce its claim that its enemies cannot hide, Israel, for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities on October 7, launched an airstrike on the centre of Beirut on Monday, killing three leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Within hours, Hamas announced its leader in Lebanon had also been killed in the south of the country.
“Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, the leader of Hamas … in Lebanon and member of the movement’s leadership abroad”, was killed in an airstrike on his “home in the Al-Bass camp in south Lebanon”, Hamas said in a statement. It added that his wife, son and daughter had also died in a “terrorist and criminal assassination”.
The strikes in Yemen targeted the port city of Hodeidah as well as Ras Issa, through which the Houthis import oil and Iranian weapons, the Israeli military said.
The attack came after the Houthis claimed responsibility for firing ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv on Friday and, on Saturday, at the city’s Ben Gurion International Airport just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning from New York, where he had addressed the UN General Assembly. The Houthis said they did so in support of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories.
After visiting Israeli Air Force headquarters to watch footage of the attack on Yemen, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, said: “Our message is clear – for us, no place is too far.”
An oil tanker had only just arrived in Hodeidah – the first shipment since Israel attacked the port in July in retaliation for a Houthi drone strike on a building in Tel Aviv. Yemeni media insisted the port attacks had been “useless” because the oil tanker had been drained “as a precaution”. However, images from the scene show massive explosions and burning fuel. A Houthi official admitted fuel tanks at Hodeidah and Ras Issa had been hit, along with two power stations in Hodeidah.
The air raids in Yemen came as Israel continued to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday, with its military saying it would “continue to attack powerfully (to) damage and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities and infrastructure”.
It said an airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday also “eliminated” a further 20 members of the group, including senior leaders. The Hezbollah commanders and Nasrallah had been in an underground command centre in Beirut when it was hit. The site was beneath apartment buildings and within 130m of a UN-run school and the Pheonix International School.
The death of Nasrallah, whose body was recovered on Monday, leaves a bruised Hezbollah under pressure to respond. Lebanon on Monday began three days of national mourning for Nasrallah, with flags to fly at half-mast on public buildings. Iraq, Iran and Syria also declared public mourning. Iran has said Nasrallah’s killing will bring about Israel’s “destruction”.
With no let-up in fighting, the Lebanese Prime Minister warned of a mass-displacement crisis as hundreds of thousands flee.
“This is Lebanon’s largest displacement crisis in history,” said Najib Mikati. “The number of displaced people is much higher than the reported figures; estimates suggest it could reach one million.”
The escalating tensions come as the US warned Iran and its proxies from exploiting the situation. The Pentagon said it would keep the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group near the Red Sea. The Lincoln had been expected to leave when the USS Harry S. Truman carrier group arrived. The Truman will now be operating near the Mediterranean Sea.
Additional reporting: AFP
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