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U.S. officials expect Israel to launch ground operations in Lebanon “soon” to clear Hezbollah infrastructure in border areas in an effort to step up its offensive against Hezbollah.
Officials said Israel is discussing the form of a planned invasion with the United States, which is seeking to limit the scope and duration of the planned invasion, fearing it could lead to an uncontrolled occupation of Lebanese border areas.
“Instead, we believe they have reached an understanding that they will take more targeted, regionally focused actions, clearing Hezbollah’s infrastructure near the Israeli border, and then withdrawing their troops. “There are,” a U.S. official said.
This is Israel’s first ground attack in Lebanon since 2006, when it fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah that ended in a stalemate. Putting boots on the ground also increases the risk for Israel, which has unparalleled air superiority but will be fighting in the stronghold of Iranian-backed insurgents.
Officials said Israel had already carried out small-scale ground operations in Lebanon in recent days. Lebanese authorities say more than 1,000 people have been killed and up to 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes in the past two weeks due to a spate of airstrikes on Lebanon.
Jamil El-Sayed, a member of the Lebanese parliament close to Hezbollah and once the head of the country’s top intelligence agency, said: Said in X’s post Late on Monday, it was announced that the Lebanese army would withdraw from 12 locations along the border with Israel, and UN peacekeeping forces deployed to the border area were ordered to be on high alert.
The Israeli military warned residents of three neighborhoods in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, on Monday night to leave the area. Similar warnings have been issued in recent days ahead of intensive air raids.
On Friday, an attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed senior Hezbollah leaders, including leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel continued its offensive Sunday night in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and in the southern border area, which has been under attack for months.
Asked on Monday whether he was aware of reports about Israel’s plans for a limited ground invasion and whether he was satisfied that the plan was moving forward, US President Joe Biden said: “I’m more than you think. “We are aware of this and are satisfied that Israel will prevent it.” There should be a ceasefire now. ”
The United States is calling on Israel to show restraint, while reiterating its firm commitment to Israel’s defense and deploying additional military assets to the region to deter Hezbollah’s backer, Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops on the Israeli-Lebanese border on Monday and said Israel would use “all means at our disposal” against Hezbollah. “The troops are ready and ready to attack,” Gallant posted on X.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qasem said that Hezbollah will not stop fighting against Israel and is ready for a ground attack by Israel.
“If the Israelis want a ground invasion, the resistance is ready,” Qassem said in the first statement by a Hezbollah leader since Nasrallah’s assassination.
Despite calls by the Biden administration and other Western countries for Israel to de-escalate tensions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to hold back against Hezbollah until more than 60,000 people displaced from northern Israel by a year of cross-border fires can return home. He insisted that the attacks would continue. house.
Lebanon’s interim prime minister, Najib Mikati, said on Monday that his country was ready to accept a nearly 20-year-old United Nations resolution that called for Hezbollah to retreat 30 kilometers from its border with Israel, among other demands. The door is open to a diplomatic solution.
For months, the United States has been seeking to broker an agreement to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and implement the resolution. But Hezbollah insisted it would continue shelling Israel while Israeli forces battled Hamas in Gaza.
Last week, the United States and France spearheaded efforts to get both sides to accept a proposed 21-day cease-fire, which was supported by other Western and Arab countries concerned about all-out war in the Middle East.
U.S. officials said Israel agreed to a truce before changing its mind overnight, seeing an opportunity to attack Nasrallah on Friday.
The U.S. government is sending “thousands more” troops to the region, including additional fighter jets, to protect U.S. forces and help defend Israel. The United States already has about 40,000 troops deployed to the Middle East.
