Israel targets Hezbollah in ground invasion

Ready for direct clashes with Israeli forces, says militant group; escalation causes international alarm

- REUTERS

Israel's elite units launched limited ground raids into Lebanon on Tuesday, as arch-foe Hezbollah fired missiles at Tel Aviv.

The tit-for-tat escalation following weeks of intense Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon raised concerns of a broader Middle East conflagration sucking in both Iran and the United States.

Israel carried out one attack that hit a high-rise building in Beirut city's Jnah area and one on the capital's southern suburbs later on Tuesday that briefly closed the road to Beirut airport, two Lebanese security sources said.

The Israeli military said it had carried out a "precise strike".

An Israeli security official earlier said troops in southern Lebanon had begun limited raids into Lebanon overnight that only went a short distance over the border, adding that no direct clashes with Hezbollah fighters were reported.

Israeli forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels and weapons caches under homes and invasion plans by the group, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday. The operations had uncovered plans by Hezbollah to enter Israel and carry out an attack similar to the one led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Israel on October 7 last year.

Hezbollah has not commented on his claims.