Oct 1,2024: Israel said it launched a ‘limited’ ground incursion into southern Lebanon and Hezbollah said it fired a barrage of missiles into Israel.Three civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Damascus.
Countries including Britain and Spain warned of the risk of escalation.
Israeli forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches under homes and uncovering invasion plans by the group, the Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said the details are being declassified for the first time, hours after Israel officially announced a ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Dozens of such operations had uncovered detailed plans by Hezbollah to enter Israel and carry out an attack similar to the one led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year.
The findings and evidence discovered under homes in villages in southern Lebanon during the raids will be presented to the international community, Hagari said. He presented videos from soldiers’ body-cameras and maps.
No country has activated a large-scale military evacuation yet, though some are chartering aircraft to assist in their nationals leaving as Beirut airport remains open.
Cyprus, the closest European Union member state to the Middle East, is a likely hub, having processed around 60,000 people fleeing the Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006. Neighbouring Turkey has offered facilities as well.
