Israeli forces are conducting limited ground operations targeting Hezbollah inside Lebanon, the US said last night, amid heavy shelling and tank fire along the border between the two countries.
"This is what they have informed us that they are currently conducting, which are limited operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure near the border," the US state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, told journalists.
Lebanese media reported shelling and tank fire targeting border villages adjacent to an area of northern Israel that had been declared a closed military zone earlier yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army said it was "repositioning and regrouping forces" amid reports it had withdrawn three miles from the country's southern border.
The reports followed fresh airstrikes in Lebanon - including on central Beirut for the first time in nearly 20 years and came after Israel's defence minister, Yoav Gallant, told community leaders the "next phase of the war against Hezbollah will begin soon".
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, meanwhile warned Tehran it could strike anywhere in the region at will. "There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach," he said in a video addressed to the Iranian people.
Gallant had earlier told troops in northern Israel: "We will use all of our capabilities - including you." The Israeli military later declared areas of Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi a closed military zone.
The US president, Joe Biden, said he was aware of Israel's plans to launch an operation into Lebanon as he urged against such a move. "I'm more aware than you might know and I'm comfortable with them stopping," he told reporters at the White House.
"We should have a ceasefire now." The threats from Netanyahu and Gallant came just days after an airstrike south of Beirut killed Hassan Nasrallah, the veteran leader of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
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Denne historien er fra October 01, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Shapeless and petulant, the Ten Hag ghost ship drifts on
United are exposed again as aweak club who donot know what they want, orlack thenous to achieve what they do
Trescothick hopes England 'unscathed' by frantic schedule
Test squad heads to Pakistan today straight after ODI series, part ofa major fixture pile-up
Day of reckoning Past failures must inform transition to greener future
It is mere coincidence that the closure of the blast furnace at the Port Talbot steel works and the shutdown of Britain's last coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire happened on the same day.
Shop prices falling at fastest rate in three years
Prices in UK shops are falling at the fastest rate since 2021 despite a step up in fresh-food inflation as the wet weather hit UK production while the cost of olive oil and sugary snacks continues to be affected by the climate crisis.
REA gives up on Rightmove after fourth bid is rejected
The Rupert Murdoch-backed real estate company REA Group has abandoned its attempt to take over the website Rightmove after its fourth offer was rebuffed yesterday.
'Europe's first dead river' Ukraine blames Russia as toxic slick causes disaster
Serhiy Kraskov picked up a twig and poked a small fish floating in the Desna River.
Harris's economic policies more popular with voters than Trump's, polling finds
Kamala Harris's economic policies proved far more popular than Donald Trump's plans in a blind test of their proposals.
Parties plan post-election talks as Austria begins 'alarming new chapter'
Austria's main parties are preparing for tense wrangling to form a government amid warnings about the country's democracy, after the far right's victory in a general election in which angry voters punished centrist incumbents over migration and inflation.
Dartmoor repopulated with pine martens for first time in 150 years
Fifteen pine martens are darting through the woods of Dartmoor for the first time in 150 years after the reintroduction of the rare species into south-west England.
'Perpetual cruise' passengers stranded in Belfast for months due to finally set sail
More than 100 passengers were poised last night to finally leave Belfast on a three-year round-theworld \"perpetual cruise\" after being marooned months in the city.
