Israel launches ground offensive in Lebanon

The Israeli army said its troops were locked in fierce clashes in Lebanon after launching a ground offensive on Tuesday, escalating the conflict after a week of air strikes that killed hundreds.

The ground assault came as Israel targeted south Beirut, Damascus and Gaza, despite international calls for restraint to avoid a regional conflagration.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned the fight was far from over, even after a massive strike on Beirut killed Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. His death dealt a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group.

 A picture taken from northern Israel, along the border with southern Lebanon, on Monday shows a fire following Israeli bombardment on an area of south Lebanon. AFP

It said the targets posed an "immediate threat" to northern Israeli communities, and warned Lebanese civilians against driving in a southern zone along the border.

10 family members killed

"Intense fighting is taking place in southern Lebanon," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram. "For your personal safety, we ask you not to travel by vehicles from the north to the south of the Litani River."

 A woman cries during the funeral procession of two Hizbollah members, killed when a handheld device exploded, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. AP

The military had earlier declared a military zone on parts of its border with Lebanon. It said projectiles were fired from Lebanon into the northern Israeli towns of Avivim and Metula.

Hizbollah said it had twice targeted "a movement of enemy soldiers in Metula with artillery shells".

Lebanon's official National News Agency said an Israeli air strike on Tuesday on Ain al-Helweh camp killed six people, including Hassan Maqdah, the son of Mounir Maqdah who heads the Lebanese branch of Palestinian group Fatah's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

 Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, on Tuesday. Reuters

‘Limited’ incursion

US news site Axios cited two Israeli officials saying the military incursion is "targeted and limited in time and scope and is not intended to occupy southern Lebanon".

Lebanon's national army, dwarfed by Hizbollah’s military power, was "repositioning" troops farther from the border, a military official told AFP.

World leaders have urged de-escalation, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying: "We do not want any sort of ground invasion."

Israel orders Beirut evacuations

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed 95 people on Monday, the health ministry said.

On Monday evening, the Israeli military ordered people in three districts of southern Beirut to evacuate.

"You are located near interests and facilities belonging to the terrorist Hizbollah group... you must evacuate the buildings immediately," Adraee said.

Hizbollah began low intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered Israel's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip.

 Locals and rescue teams inspect the damage following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the Ain al-Helweh camp on the outskirts of Sidon, early on Tuesday. AFP

‘Everyone is afraid in Beirut’

Austin warned on Monday of "serious consequences for Iran" if Tehran directly attacks Israel.

Following a deadly strike on central Beirut on Monday, resident Kahier Bannout, 42, said it was "supposed to be a safe area -- not a war zone".

"Everyone is afraid."

Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than 1,000 people have been killed since September 17.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday appealed to the United Nations and donor countries for aid for the displaced, whom he previously estimated could be as many as one million people.

Agence France-Presse