Lebanon: Israel approves ground invasion, warns US it will commence ‘within hours’, as Beirut blasted

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Lebanon: ******* approves ground invasion, warns US it will commence ‘within hours’, as Beirut blasted

The ******** government has approved ground troops to commence an invasion of Lebanon, with officials telling the US that an entry will occur “within hours”, as blasts in Beirut are heard after the the IDF to “evacuate immediately”.

Speaking on Sky News ***, Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam confirmed that *******’s “operations have started”.

“In the last few minutes we got news that the ******** government has given full approval for escalation,”

******** special forces have commenced raids through Lebanon, including Hezbollah tunnels, in an attempt to quash the ********** group’s ability to ****** back.

******** Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told local council heads in northern ******* that the next phase of the war along Lebanon’s southern border would begin soon, and support the aim of bringing home Israelis who have fled Hezbollah rockets during nearly a year of border warfare.

He also told troops: “We will use all the means that may be required – your forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea, and on land. Good luck.”

Camera IconAn ******** mobile artillery unit is seen near the *******-Lebanon border on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner) Credit: Baz Ratner/APBlasts heard in Beirut after ‘evacuate’ warning issued

About an hour after the grim warning was issued, reporters near the areas of concern have confirmed loud blasts have been heard.

The ***** spokesperson for the IDF, Colonel Avichay Adraee warned people in multiple areas of Beirut to “evacuate”.

“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate the buildings immediately and start from a distance of no less than 500 meters,” Mr Adraee said.

“You are present near interests and facilities affiliated with the ********** Hezbollah and therefore the IDF will act against them forcefully.”

If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your Cookie Settings.

To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

At least three separate blast have been reported, with this explosions shaking the city and filling the air with deafening noise.

Amal Al-Hourani, mayor of Jdeidet Marjayoun, a **********-majority Lebanese village less than 10km from the border, told Reuters that some locals had received calls apparently from the ******** army telling them to evacuate the area as soon as possible.

US told about the ******** invasion

Friday’s ************** of Hassan Nasrallah – the most powerful leader in Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance” against ******** and U.S. interests in the Middle East – was one of the heaviest blows in decades to both Hezbollah and Iran.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the positioning of ******** troops suggested a ground incursion could be ‘within hours’.

The Washington Post cited an unidentified US official as saying ******* had already told the US the operation would be smaller than its 2006 war against Hezbollah and focus on border security.

Asked about the reports, US President Joe Biden, who has so far had little success urging ******* to rein in its assaults on Hezbollah or on the ****** militia in Gaza, called for a ceasefire.

“I’m comfortable with them stopping,” he told reporters.

Hezbollah ‘ready for a ground engagement’

Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem, in a first public speech since ******** air strikes ******* Nasrallah, said that “the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement”.

As he spoke, ******** air strikes in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon continued, extending a campaign that has eliminated several Hezbollah commanders but also ******* about 1000 civilians and forced one million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.

The ****** toll from an ******** strike on the southern Lebanese town of Ain Deleb rose to 45, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Monday.

Nasrallah’s ********, along with the assassinations and systematic attacks on the group’s communications devices, constitute the biggest ***** to the Shi’ite movement since Iran created it in 1982 to ****** *******.

Nasrallah built Hezbollah into Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force, with a wide reach across the Middle East.

Now it must replace a charismatic, towering leader who the West branded a ********** mastermind but who to millions of supporters was a hero who stood up to *******.

Qassem said it would “choose a secretary-general for the party at the earliest opportunity”.

He said Hezbollah had continued to ***** rockets as deep as 150km into ******** territory.

“We know that the battle may be long,” he said.

“We will win as we won in the liberation of 2006,” he added, referring to the last big conflict between the two foes.

But ******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah’s main backer, Iran, that “there is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country”.

In a three-minute video clip in English that he addressed to the Iranian people, he accused their government of plunging the Middle East “deeper into war” at the expense of its own people, whom it was bringing “closer to the abyss”.

– With Reuters

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Lebanon #******* #approves #ground #invasion #warns #commence #hours #Beirut #blasted

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up