The land invasion of Lebanon by Israel is “imminent”. The United States already takes this for granted after learning this Monday of the Jewish state’s plans and a series of “limited” raids across the border with Lebanon. As things stand, the war drums between Israel and Hezbollah are sounding louder and both sides They say they are ready for an escalation of the conflict this involves earthly confrontation.
After two weeks of intense bombing and the loss of several senior Hezbollah officials, culminating in the assassination of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, Tel Aviv suggested on Monday that prepares the ground for a ground offensive on a larger scale in Lebanon.
The United States is aware of plans for a ground operation in Lebanon that could be only a matter of hours, as reported by Washington Postciting an anonymous senior US official as a source.
According to this senior official, the land incursion could start “imminently”would be more modest than Israel’s war against Hezbollah in 2006 and would focus on the security of border communities.
A few hours transcending the information from Washington Postthe US Department of State has confirmed that Israel is already implementing “limited” land operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
“That’s what we’ve learned they’re doing right now, which is limited operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure near the border,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told media.
When asked to confirm that these were limited ground operations, Miller said: “That’s what we understand.”
Speculation about the entry of Israeli troops into Lebanon grew until it was confirmed that Israel had already deployed them. small special forces units in the south of Lebanon, as the newspaper points out The Wall Street Journal.
These missions – says the newspaper – target Hezbollah’s network of tunnels near the border and thus prevent the defense of the Shiite militia from causing losses in the ranks of the Israeli army.
The Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallantis also responsible for supplying information published by American newspapers on an “imminent” land military incursion.
“The next phase of the war against Hezbollah will soon begin. “This will be an important factor in changing the security situation and will allow us to accomplish the important (mission) of repatriating residents home,” the minister said, referring to the more than 60,000 Israelis who were displaced last month. last year. .
Attack on central Beirut
Gallant issued warning just hours after Israel attacked central Beirut for the first time since 2006. The Israeli army bombed a residential building in the Lebanese capital at dawn, more precisely in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Cola, where at least three of the four people who died were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
This bombing meant a turning point in the Israeli offensive of recent weeks. Until Monday, attacks were focused on the southern suburbs of the city – predominantly Shiite neighborhoods considered Hezbollah strongholds -, the southern part of Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Faced with threats of an imminent ground invasion by Israel, Hezbollah’s “number two”, Naim Qassemwas provocative in the first speech by a senior leader of the group after the assassination of Nasrallah in last Friday’s Israeli airstrike on the Beirut suburbs.
“We know that the battle can be long and the alternatives are available to us. “If the Israelis decide to enter by land, the Resistance forces are ready to engage in ground combat,” Qassem said.
In a solemn tone, the religious also warned that “The Resistance is preparing for land confrontation with the enemyo” and expressed confidence that Hezbollah will come out “victorious” despite the numerous losses it has suffered during nearly a year of clashes with Israel, particularly in recent days.
Far from recognizing the harshness of the blows suffered at the very heart of the formation, Qassem only asked his fighters and sympathizers for “a little patience and military equipment” to respond to a new escalation by Israel.
“I want you to know that what we are doing is the minimum,” he added in a reassuring tone, at a time when the formation is still in shock after the assassination of Nasrallah and where the entire country Everyone is awaiting the appointment of the next leader, a decision that Qassem said will be made “as soon as possible.”
Calls to stop escalation
Meanwhile, the Lebanese are holding their breath. More than a thousand people died and nearly a million were forced to escape.from their homes over the past two weeks in the face of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign, aimed primarily at southern and eastern Lebanon.
International organizations and several countries, as well as the Lebanese government, have warned of Israel’s intentions and recalled the destruction caused on the southern border of the Jewish state, where there is a devastated Gaza Strip.
United States President Joe Biden also rallied behind a ceasefire when asked at a press conference about Israel’s plans for a possible imminent ground invasion of the country . “I know more than you think“, he indicated.
When asked if he was comfortable with these plans, the US president stated emphatically: “I’m comfortable with them stopping. We need a ceasefire now“.
The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, declared on Monday that Israel must avoid “any military intervention” in Lebanon, Since will “worsen” the situation already complicated on the ground after the bombings which caused thousands of civilian victims in recent days in southern Lebanon and in the capital Beirut.
“Any new military intervention will considerably worsen the situation and must be avoided,” he warned in a press release from Mexico following the emergency meeting held by videoconference with the foreign ministers of the 27 to discuss of the crisis in Lebanon.
From Beirut, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot urged Israel to “refrain from any ground incursion into Lebanon”, which he also asked Hezbollah to “avoid any type of action” that would destabilize further east and which could lead to a possible land incursion into Lebanon. a regional conflict.
“There is hope, but there is little time left”, underlined the head of French diplomacy, a country which, with the United States, proposed a 21-day truce in Lebanon, which has been largely ignored by opposition parties.
The Israeli attacks against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon are part of a conflict that began almost a year ago in the Gaza Strip, but which also extends to the occupied West Bank and involves other actors, such as groups supported by Iran from Yemen and Iraq. The escalation of tensions has raised fears that The United States and Iran are drawn into the conflict.
