Israel’s military announced Tuesday it launched ground operations in southwestern Lebanon, marking an expansion of its incursion that Israeli officials have said is aimed at pushing Hezbollah militants back from the border.
As with its initial ground operations in Lebanon that began September 30, the Israeli military described the new efforts as “limited, localized, targeted operations.”
The ground campaign accompanies a widespread aerial offensive, which has included airstrikes on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, as well as areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.
The Israeli military said Tuesday one of those airstrikes killed a senior Hezbollah commander, Suhail Husseini, who was involved in the transfer of weapons from Iran to the Lebanon-based militant group.
The strike came 10 days after an Israeli attack killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah amid a rapid widening of Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
The conflict has prompted numerous governments to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon. Turkey said it is sending two navy ships to Beirut to evacuate 2,000 of its citizens beginning Wednesday.
The United States said Tuesday that two flights facilitated by the State Department evacuated 180 people from Beirut to Istanbul.
The Israel Defense Forces issued warnings to fishermen and other people in the area of Lebanon’s Awali River, banning them from the beach and the sea in that area and south of it “until further notice.” The river flows into the Mediterranean near the southern city of Sidon.
