The Israeli army has launched a limited ground operation in Lebanon. The extent of the deployment is still unclear. All developments in the news blog.
10:11 p.m.: The Israeli military has asked residents of some Beirut suburbs to evacuate. The Israeli military said the warning applies to the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. The reason is planned attacks on targets of the Hezbollah militia.
9:41 p.m.: A Bundeswehr plane carrying personnel from the German embassy in Lebanon has arrived in Germany. The Foreign Office said the plane from Beirut landed at the capital’s BER airport. She had previously flown to the Lebanese capital to fly out particularly vulnerable Germans as well as members of the embassy and German intermediary organizations.
9 p.m.: The Israeli army has launched a limited ground operation in Lebanon. Israel has communicated this to the United States. The operations would focus on Hezbollah’s infrastructure near the border with Israel, the US State Department said. Read more here.
8:20 p.m.: The Lebanese army has withdrawn from several positions on the southern border with Israel. This was reported by local residents and an unnamed source from security circles to the Reuters news agency. The army has not yet confirmed the withdrawal.
7:51 p.m.: Israel’s military declares three restricted areas in the north of the country. The surroundings of Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi are mentioned by name. The decision was made after a review of the situation, it said in a statement. All three places are comparatively close to each other on the border with Lebanon.
7.30 p.m.: The United States is sending “a few thousand more soldiers” to the Middle East. The Pentagon said this was intended to increase security and defend Israel if necessary. The additional forces would bring the total number of U.S. troops in the region to up to 43,000.
5.30 p.m.: According to US media reports, Israel is planning a limited ground offensive in Lebanon that could begin shortly. This was reported by the “Washington Post” and the broadcaster CBS, citing a US government official who stated that Israel had informed the USA of a corresponding plan. The operation could therefore begin within hours.
The scope of the operation should be smaller than the war against the radical Islamic Hezbollah militia in 2006. The aim is to ensure security for the communities on the border with Lebanon. A ground offensive by Israel against Hezbollah is likely to fuel fears that the war will expand to include Iran and the USA.
US President Joe Biden did not directly confirm the reports in an exchange with journalists. Asked whether he was aware of and agreed with Israel’s plans to launch a “limited operation” in Lebanon, Biden replied: “I know more than you think. And I agree with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now.”
4.20 p.m.: The Bundeswehr has dispatched an A321 aircraft to evacuate personnel from the German embassy in Lebanon. The plane flew to Beirut on Monday, the Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Defense said. This should fly out “personnel who are not urgently needed” as well as relatives of the embassy employees. Read more about this here.
