Tel Aviv, Israel – Israeli forces have entered Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) gave this information on the morning of 1st October. The IDF launched a limited military operation in border villages on the night of 30th September to destroy Hezbollah strongholds and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army says it has killed a commander of the Imam Hussein division, referring to a Hezbollah-linked group based in Syria, in a strike in Beirut as it stepped up attacks across Lebanon.
The announcements came as Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for the assassinations of Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials. Israel promised a “painful response”, saying that more than 180 missiles were launched into Israel from Iran and Israeli air defences were activated to intercept them. It comes a day after Israel said it sent ground troops into southern Lebanon in what it described as a “limited” operation against Hezbollah targets. This is the first time since 2006 that Israeli forces have entered Lebanon. At that time there was a 33 day war between Israel and Hezbollah. More than 1,100 Lebanese were killed, while 165 Israelis were killed.