Israel warns of expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon amid escalating conflict with Hezbollah
The Israeli military has issued a warning to residents of southern Lebanon, specifically those in Nabatieh and communities north of the Litani River, to evacuate immediately.
The warning comes as Israel prepares to widen its ground operation against Hezbollah, which began earlier this week.
At least eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week.
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The Lebanese Red Cross said an Israeli strike wounded four of its paramedics and killed a Lebanese army soldier as they were evacuating wounded people from the south.
“Hezbollah… has built extensive military infrastructure in towns and villages near the border,” the Israeli military said.
Hezbollah has an armed wing with tens of thousands of fighters but it also has a political movement and a network of charities staffed by civilians.
The Israeli military said Thursday that it had struck around 200 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts.
Hezbollah said its fighters detonated a roadside bomb when Israeli forces entered the Lebanese border village of Maroun el-Ras, killing and wounding soldiers.
Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the monthlong 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, the militants were to withdraw north of the Litani, and Lebanon’s armed forces were to patrol the border region along with U.N. peacekeepers.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah after nearly a year of rocket attacks that began Oct. 8 and displaced some 60,000 Israelis from communities in the north.
Hundreds more airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon since mid-September have killed at least 1,276 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.