Israel begins ground offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

Israel's military has warned residents of Lebanese border communities to evacuate from villages that lie in the path of a cross-border offensive against the Hezbollah military group.

The warning, posted by the Israeli military's Arabic spokesman on the social media platform X, was directed at around two dozen communities in southern Lebanon and told civilians to evacuate areas north of the Awali River, which runs some 60 kilometres from the border.

That moves the front line further into Lebanon than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a UN-declared zone that was set up to create a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their 2006 war.

Israeli forces crossed into southern Lebanon early on Tuesday, marking a significant escalation of conflict with Hezbollah that opens a new front in a yearlong war against its Iranian-backed adversaries.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed later on Tuesday that Hezbollah fired rockets into central Israel, including Tel Aviv, wounding two people.

The IDF posted on X that "a missile fired by Hezbollah at Israel fell directly in Kfar Qassem, an Arab village in central Israel," and added it believed Hezbollah's plan was to stage an attack similar to that carried out by Hamas on 7 October.

In a brief announcement, it said it was striking Hezbollah targets in areas close to the Israeli border, and that air force and artillery units were carrying out attacks to support the ground forces. It gave no details on how long the operation would last, but said the army had been training and preparing for months.

It said it was carrying out “targeted ground raids” in villages close to the Israeli border. The targets, it said, pose an “immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.”

There were no reports of direct clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants. But throughout the evening, Israeli artillery units pounded targets in southern Lebanon and the sounds of airstrikes were heard throughout Beirut.

Smoke rose from the capital’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, shortly after Israel ordered residents of three buildings to evacuate.

On Monday night, the Israeli military already launched small ground raids against Hezbollah and sealed off communities along its northern border.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel informed the US about the raids which he described as "limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.”

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost every day since the war in Gaza began, displacing tens of thousands of people in Israel and Lebanon.

Israel says it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for families to return to their homes near the Lebanon border. Hezbollah has promised to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza.