New phase of war?

Israel to USA: Limited ground operations in Lebanon

Clouds of smoke rise after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon near the border with northern Israel on Monday.(Bild: APA/AFP/Rabih DAHER)

According to the State Department in Washington, Israel has informed the USA of "limited" ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"They have told us at this point that these are limited operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure near the border," Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington on Monday. It was not immediately clear whether the ground operations were already underway or had yet to be planned.

Miller declined to provide further details about the talks with Israel, saying it was up to Israel to provide information "about its military operations". Almost at the same time as the US State Department spokesperson's statements, the Israeli army published an announcement stating that it had established a "military exclusion zone" in three border towns in northern Israel. The areas around Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi are affected. "Entering this zone is prohibited," the army statement said.

An Israeli soldier sits on the roof of a tank.(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

"The next phase in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon"
 Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had previously spoken of an imminent new phase of the war on the border with Lebanon, fueling speculation of an imminent Israeli invasion. "The next phase in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon," his office said in a statement on Monday. Gallant also spoke to soldiers about the war goal of enabling Israelis who had fled the border area to return. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet also met on Monday.

United Nations warns against ground offensive in Lebanon
The United Nations has warned Israel against a possible ground offensive in Lebanon. "We do not want to see a ground invasion," said the spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, in New York. "We all know what devastation an all-out war, a ground war in Lebanon, would mean for the people of Israel and the people of Lebanon." He was responding to US media reports that an invasion could be imminent.

Almost 10,000 UN forces from the UNIFIL blue helmet mission are stationed on the border between the two countries and in the south of Lebanon. According to Dujarric, they remain in position, but are restricted in their freedom of movement due to the ongoing shelling from both sides and are unable to carry out their work of monitoring the ceasefire that is actually in place. The Austrian Armed Forces are also involved in the UNIFIL mission.

Dujarric went on to say that humanitarian aid was being prepared in the event of an invasion. The member states are therefore urgently requested to provide additional funds to cover the needs of around one million people in Lebanon. So far, around 100,000 people in the region have fled to neighboring Syria.