Israel attacks Lebanon: Israeli tanks mass on Lebanese border as fears rise of ground invasion
Hezbollah ready for any Israel ground offensive, says deputy
by AFP · Gulf NewsBeirut: Israel warned on Monday it would use all its might to hit Hezbollah even after the killing of its leader, as the Iran-backed group said its fighters were ready to face any ground offensive in Lebanon.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem, in a first televised address since the massive Friday strike, said the armed movement was "ready if Israel decides to enter by land. The resistance forces are ready for any ground confrontation."
In a televised address, Qassem also said Hezbollah would choose a new chief “at the earliest opportunity” after Israel killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike on Friday.
Qassem said Hezbollah would continue “confronting the Israeli enemy in support of Gaza and Palestine, in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the assassinations and the killing of civilians”.
“We will face any scenario and we are ready if Israel decides to enter by land, the resistance forces are ready for any ground confrontation.
'Limited' ground invasion in Lebanon 'imminently'
Israel is set to launch a limited ground incursion into Lebanon at any time but will not go ahead with a major invasion to root out Hezbollah as the US had initially feared, according to a US official.
The Biden administration persuaded Israel not to go ahead with the larger operation, according to the official, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Instead it will conduct targeted attacks focused on clearing Hezbollah infrastructure from the Lebanon-Israel border, the person said.
The US is still concerned that a limited attack will turn into a larger and longer-term invasion, the person said.
Asked about the possibility of an incursion earlier Monday, President Joe Biden called again for a halt to the fighting.
"I'm more aware than you might know and I'm comfortable with them stopping," Biden said. "We should have a ceasefire now."
Nasrallah killing not 'final' step: Israel
In northern Israel, near the Lebanese border, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: "We will use all the means that may be required... from the air, from the sea, and on land."
He said the killing of Nasrallah "is an important step, but it is not the final one."
To allow displaced residents of the border area to return safely home, "we will employ all of our capabilities, and this includes you," Gallant told troops.
Hezbollah began low-intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 which triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
The border clashes have rapidly escalated this month, leaving people across the region fearful of even more violence to come.
The Israeli strikes continued on Monday, with one of them killing a soldier in south Lebanon according to a military statement - the first death among Lebanese troops in the current escalation.
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Israel's strikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds of people over the past week and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee their homes.
Hezbollah and other groups launched rockets, drones and some missiles at Israel over the same period, causing some injuries but no deaths.
'Largest displacement'
Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than 1,000 people have been killed since September 17.
UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said "well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon", while more than 100,000 have fled to neighbouring Syria.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said up to one million people may have been uprooted, in potentially the "largest displacement movement" in Lebanon's history.
Israel said it carried out strikes on Sunday targeting Iran-backed Huthis in Yemen, which rebel media on Monday said killed six people, after they launched a missile at Israel.
World leaders have called for a de-escalation, while some governments have urged their citizens - and in some cases, embassy staff or their families - to leave Lebanon.
Beirut strike
Most of Israel's strikes have targeted Hezbollah strongholds in eastern and southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, the group's main bastion.
On Monday, a drone strike hit a building in the Kola district in central Beirut, with an armed Palestinian group saying it had killed three of its members.
The strike, the first in the centre of the city in years, sparked panic, with 41-year-old resident Mohammed al-Hoss saying "the kids were in shock" after his house was damaged.
"We are with Gaza and support the Palestinian cause, but our country cannot cope with us going to war," he said.
"Our country is in a wretched state. They (Israel) finished with Gaza and they have come to Lebanon."
Lebanon's health ministry also reported the strike, saying it had killed four people and wounded four others. Israel has yet to comment.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas later announced that its leader in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, had been killed along with his wife and two children in another strike on Al-Bass refugee camp in south Lebanon.
The Israeli military confirmed it had "eliminated" Sharif in a strike.
Around Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed 105 people on Sunday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad said Saturday that 1,030 people including 87 children had been killed since September 16.
UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said "well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon", while more than 100,000 have fled to neighbouring Syria.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said up to one million people may have been uprooted, in potentially the "largest displacement movement" in Lebanon's history.
Yemen strikes
The violence in Lebanon has raised fears of a much wider conflagration in the region.
On Monday, the Israeli army said it "successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory".
Israel said it also carried out strikes in Yemen on Sunday, targeting Iran-backed Huthi rebel positions.
Houthi media reports said those strikes killed four people and wounded 33.
The raids in Yemen came a day after the Huthis said they launched a missile at Israel's Ben Gurion airport, trying to hit it as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning from New York.
The Israeli military has said its operations in Lebanon aim to eliminate Hezbollah's leadership and capacity to attack Israel.
Hezbollah on Monday confirmed that Israel also killed Nabil Qaouq, a member of the group's central council, in a Beirut strike on Saturday.
Lebanon began a three-day national mourning period for Nasrallah on Monday, with flags flying at half-mast.
Iran has said Nasrallah's killing would bring about Israel's "destruction", though the foreign ministry said Monday it would not deploy any fighters to confront Israel.
In Israel, some had mixed feelings about the Hezbollah chief's killing.
"Nasrallah was responsible for the deaths of many Israelis, so it is good news," said Matan Sofer, 24, in the northern town of Rosh Pina.
"But do we risk it getting worse, who knows?"
Calls for halt
World leaders have called for a de-escalation.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot met with the Lebanese premier in Beirut Monday, and said his government sought "an immediate halt" in the strikes.
He is the first high-level foreign diplomat to visit since the Israeli strikes intensified.
US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel's top arms supplier, said Sunday a wider war "really has to be avoided".
In Gaza, AFP journalists said the number of air strikes across the territory has dropped significantly in recent days, particularly since Nasrallah's killing.
Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
Of the 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,615 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.