The Israeli army said today that it is preparing for a ground operation in Lebanon as airstrikes continue to pound the country.
“We are not stopping, the fighter jets have been striking all day (in Lebanon), and we are preparing for the maneuver,” Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevi said during an exercise in the north, according to a military statement.
“You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day. This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah,” Halevi told soldiers.
“Today, Hezbollah expanded its range of fire, and later today, they will receive a very strong response. Prepare yourselves,” he said.
Earlier, the army said that it struck over 280 Hezbollah-linked targets in Lebanon since Wednesday morning.
The army also called up two reserve brigades to the northern border with Lebanon early Wednesday amid its ongoing attacks on the country.
The mobilization of reserve forces signals potential preparations for ground operations.
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Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since Monday morning, killing nearly 610 people and injuring over 2,000 others, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced it had fired a ballistic missile that reached Tel Aviv for the first time.
It also claimed missile strikes targeting the Sa’ar kibbutz near Nahariya in northern Israel, resulting in injuries, according to local media reports, as well as several other attacks on Israel including:
- Targeting of Megiddo military airport, west of Afula, with barrages of Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 missiles.
- Targeting of Ramat David base and airport with a barrage of Fadi-2 missiles.
- Targeting of the Amos base with a barrage of Fadi-1 missiles.
- Targeting of an explosive materials factory in the Zikhron area, 60 km from the border, with a barrage of Fadi-2 missiles.
- Targeting of Kiryat Shmona settlement with barrage of rockets.
- Targeting of the logistical warehouses of the 146th Division at the Naftali base with a barrage of rockets.
- Targeting of Eliakim camp, affiliated with the northern command, south of Haifa, with a barrage of Fadi-2 missiles.
- Targeting of the main warehouses of the northern region at Nimra base with dozens of rockets.
- Targeting of Rosh Pinna settlement with barrages of rockets.
- Targeting of Samson base with Fadi-3 missiles.
- Targeting of Hagoshrim settlement with a barrage of rockets.
- Targeting of Katzrin settlement with a barrage of rockets.
- Targeting of Gesher HaZiv settlement with barrages of rockets.
- Targeting of the northern command headquarters at the Dado base with 50 rockets.
- Launching an aerial attack with a squadron of attack drones on the headquarters of the special naval task unit Shayetet 13 at the Atlit base.
In another development, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq accused Israel on Wednesday of pushing the region into an all-out war amid deadly airstrikes launched by Tel Aviv on Lebanon.
The foreign ministers of the three Arab countries held a meeting on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
A joint statement by the three countries said stopping the “dangerous escalation underway in the region… begins by halting Israel’s aggression in Gaza.”
They warned that “Israel is pushing the entire region into an all-out war” and called on the international community and the UN Security Council “to bear their responsibilities to stop the war.”
Regional tensions have escalated as Israel launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since Monday morning against what it called Hezbollah targets amid an escalation in warfare between the two sides.
Over 600 people have since been killed and over 1,800 others injured while tens of thousands have been displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last October 7.
