What you need to know as Israel announces troops are entering Lebanon for ground operations against Hezbollah

Almost a year after Israel began its policy, war with hamas in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the October 7 terrorist attack by Iranian-backed groups. it announced The start of what the Israel Defense Forces announced will be a “limited, localized and targeted ground assault” against Iran’s much larger and more armed proxy group. hezbollah in lebanon. The ground operation was announced after nearly two weeks of heavy airstrikes against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon and on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killing more than 1,000 people and killing about 100 people, Lebanese officials said. It is said that millions of people were forced to flee their homes.

The air raid and the unprecedented covert operation that saw thousands of pagers and walkie talkies previously held by Hezbollah militants blown up with embedded explosives — Largely decapitated a US-designated terrorist organization. its long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed At least six other senior officials and dozens of mid-level operatives were also killed in the September 27 airstrike. But even as Israel prepares to launch a ground operation, Hezbollah’s surviving deputy leader the group said it was ready for war.

Here’s how the archenemies found themselves at war again since the nearly month-long conflict in 2006 that left more than 1,000 people dead in Lebanon and 150 in Israel, and what’s at stake this time. This is an overview of what is happening. Concerns are swirling that Iran and the United States may become involved in a fight.

What’s happening now along the Israel-Lebanon border?

The Israeli military announced on the night of September 30 that “targeted raids” against Hezbollah were underway in Lebanon’s southern border areas. There were no immediate reports of large-scale Israeli ground operations in Lebanon, but airstrikes continued in the morning following the IDF announcement.

Although it has not provided any information about new cross-border incursions, the IDF announced on October 1 that it would declassify information about an intelligence-led raid on Lebanon that the military has conducted for nearly a year.

Since the October 7 terrorist attacks, the Israel Defense Forces have “conducted dozens of targeted operations near Lebanon’s southern border to dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure that pose a threat to civilian communities in northern Israel.” said.

The Israel Defense Forces did not give a date for the raid, but said its forces “identified and penetrated underground access points near the border, exposing extensive weapons depots and gathering points for terrorist operations” and He said he had gathered information during the operation.

Meanwhile, on Monday night, soldiers from the 98th Division of the Israel Defense Forces, made up of several special forces, prepared to cross the border into a mountainous region in the dark, where they could hear explosions all night. was heard.

On the morning of October 1, the IDF warned residents of more than 20 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes and head north, away from the border.

“Hezbollah’s activities compel the Israel Defense Forces to take action against it,” the military said in a message distributed via social media. “The Israel Defense Forces do not wish you any harm. Therefore, you must evacuate your homes immediately,” he said in Arabic. “Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities, or combat equipment is risking their lives. Any home used by Hezbollah for military needs is expected to be targeted.”

“Save your life and evacuate your home immediately,” IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Avichai Adlai said in a message. “We’ll let you know when it’s safe to go home.”

The scale of the looming invasion remains unclear, but in Israeli Defense Force positions just south of the Lebanese border, it was clear that Israeli forces were at least preparing for a major attack.

Dozens of tanks, armored fighting vehicles and bulldozers lined up and prepared to take orders. Just a few miles away, on the other side of the border, tens of thousands of Hezbollah fighters, known for their vast network of tunnels and guerrilla warfare and suicide bombings, are digging trenches to protect territory they have controlled for decades. I was waiting for it. .

The last war in 2006 ended in a ceasefire, and since then a UN peacekeeping mission of about 10,000 troops has been deployed near the Lebanese border along the so-called Blue Line. Its mission, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, called Israel’s plan to launch a cross-border ground operation a “dangerous development” and noted that the country’s “peacekeepers remain in place.”

UNIFIL said in a statement: “We reiterate that the safety and security of our peacekeepers is a top priority and that all parties have an obligation to respect it. Any border crossing into Lebanon is a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It will be a violation.” “We urge all parties to desist from this escalating behavior, which will only lead to more violence and more bloodshed.”

Why is Israel attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon?

Israeli officials said the aim of the operation against Hezbollah was to enable the return of some 60,000 people forced to flee their homes in northern Israel. They were driven away, often with evacuation orders, by a hail of rockets, drones and missiles fired by Hezbollah militants inside Lebanon.

The onslaught began a day after Israel began bombing Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack, although it was largely ineffective thanks to Israel’s advanced missile defense system. Ta. In the massacre, Hamas and its terrorist allies killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took the remaining 251 hostages back to Gaza, Israeli officials said.

Since then, Israel has announced that Hezbollah has fired more than 8,000 weapons across Lebanon’s southern border. Most of the projectiles were intercepted, but some crashed, and the attack killed several people in northern and central Israel, including two men who were injured by a rocket that hit a bus and another vehicle on October 1. Name is injured. The deadliest attack occurred in July when a rocket hit a soccer field in the Israeli-held Golan Heights. killed 12 young people. Hezbollah denied firing the rocket, but Israel and the United States condemned the group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to force Hezbollah to withdraw from the Lebanese border far enough to stop the barrage of rockets so that displaced people in northern towns and villages can return to their homes.

“The reality is that there was always a vulnerability (from Hezbollah) before October 7, but Israel always thought it had been tamed,” said Roberts, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at global affairs think tank Chatham. Sanam Vakil says. House told CBS News in September. “I think what October 7th did for Israel and Israelis is, you know, it reawakened them from the mirage that they were safe. So, both within Israel’s borders and within Israel. Returning to October 6th without changing the balance of power seems to be ‘difficult to do. ”

“We all feel suffocated by this situation,” Sarit Zehavi, a researcher who has worked for Israeli military intelligence for 15 years and lives in northern Israel, told CBS News before the ground operation began. I can’t do it,” he said. “October 8th, the war with Hezbollah basically started here.”

In another interview with CBS News on October 1, Zehawi said that the entire Israeli military operation against Hezbollah was “successful, that is, in eliminating all[Hezbollah’s]ground infrastructure in the areas adjacent to the border. He said he was looking forward to that. However, she recognized that military strikes alone were unlikely to secure peace in northern Israel in the long term.

“To tell you the truth, I hope this ends with some kind of diplomatic agreement that gives us another few years to breathe, because they (Hezbollah) will try to rebuild…October 7 After what happened on Sunday, we can’t see Hezbollah anymore.”On the other side of the border, this is a threat we can no longer tolerate.” ”

US position and risk of new Israel-Hezbollah war

President Biden has called for a cease-fire for weeks as Israel and Hezbollah intensify a gunfight on Lebanon’s southern border. U.S. officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon have all warned that an all-out war between a close U.S. ally and Iran’s most powerful proxy in the heart of the Middle East could escalate into a broader regional conflict. reveals a certain risk.

Iran Supporting many groups across the regionHezbollah, Hamas, Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Iranian government calls these groups a “front of resistance” against Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory, while Israel calls them an axis of evil with the ideological goal of wiping the Jewish state off the map. .

Hezbollah claims rocket and drone attacks against Israel are legitimate support and defense of Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and the Houthis have also targeted commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea for months. He claims there are similar reasons for what he did.

One of the biggest risks from a U.S. security perspective is that Iranian proxies, including small militias based in Iraq and Syria, may use U.S. forces in the region in retaliation for the U.S. government’s support for Israel. It’s about making it a target. They have already done so since Oct. 7, firing rockets and drones at U.S. military bases and other facilities more than 165 times. Most attacks cause little damage, but a drone strike on a U.S. military outpost in Jordan in January, claimed by an Iranian-backed group in Iraq, killed three U.S. soldiers and killed dozens of others. I was injured.

But despite the risks and US calls for de-escalation, Israel appears determined to seize momentum as Hezbollah is left on the back foot after airstrikes. The message is clear. From Israel’s perspective, the best way to quell a war is to win it.

Steve Berryman

contributed to this report.

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