Israel-Hezbollah latest: Israeli forces 'conducting operations inside Lebanon ahead of potential ground assault' (2024)

Lebanon's army says a soldier has been killed in an Israeli drone strike.

It said the soldier was on a motorbike while passing through a checkpoint in the Wazzani area in southern Lebanon.

A Lebanese security official told the Associated Press news agency that at least 11 Lebanese soldiers have been killed and 20 injured — most of them off duty and in their homes — since the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began nearly a year ago.

The Lebanese army, which has a limited arsenal and has been struggling to maintain its forces and equipment due to a protracted economic crisis, has so far stood on the sidelines in the fighting.

It is not clear how the army would react if Israel launched a threatened ground invasion into Lebanon.

The UK government has said it is doing "everything we can" to secure seats on commercial flights for Britons trying to flee Lebanon.

Sir Keir Starmer's official spokesman said: "The prime minister has been very, very clear that British nationals should leave now, particularly whilst commercial flights are still available.

"We're doing everything we can to work with commercial airlines to maximise capacity because we want people to leave, and I understand that there have been extra Middle East Airlines flights leaving Lebanon over the weekend, another scheduled for Tuesday and we have secured seats for British nationals on those flights."

The PM's spokesman said the government was "focused on at the moment is securing extra spaces on commercial flights for those who do want to leave and reiterating our calls for those to leave and to register their presence with us and book the first available flights".

"We're also working to send a rapid deployment team to bolster the efforts of our embassy in supporting British nationals who want to leave," he added.

Asked why an evacuation has not started, the spokesman said: "We've been clear whilst there are commercial flights available, British nationals can and, indeed, should leave."

The spokesman also pointed to the deployment of 700 troops, alongside Border Force and Foreign Office officials, to Cyprus to continue work on "all contingency options and plan for a range of scenarios in the region".

Last Tuesday, Sir Keir told Britons in Lebanon to "leave immediately" and said the UK was "ramping up the contingency plans... in light of the escalation".

The number of people killed by an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Ain El Delb hasrisen to 45, Lebanon's health ministry has said.

The previous figure given by the ministry last night was 32.

One civil defence worker described it as "a literal massacre", having worked on such a devastating sight after two residential blocks were levelled.

There are believed to be at least 50 others injured.

By Alex Crawford, special correspondent in Lebanon

Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general has delivered a recorded message saying the militant group is "ready for an Israeli ground invasion" of Lebanon.

The first official response from Hezbollah since its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed has been as bellicose as it gets, and a clear illustration that the militant group is more fired up than ever.

Naim Qassem said that Nasrallah could and will be replaced

Those who profess astonishment at this fiery response from Qassem misunderstand the way the militant group has been operating for decades.

"We love martyrdom," he said. "We will replace leaders with leaders."

Death for those killed in Israeli attacks is viewed as an honour by Hezbollah, and it's a message their leaders and commanders have rammed home repeatedly for decades.

In clear, very robust language, Qassem outlined how the group will not stop its actions against Israel and will continue "defending Gaza and Lebanon".

"We are exerting minimum effort from our part. Israel will never achieve its goals," he added.

He went on to say Israel was using twin tactics: attacking Hezbollah military targets as well as civilians.

The deputy Hezbollah leader said this was an attempt by Israel to "create a rift among the Lebanese people and cause chaos".

Despite a string of Israeli attacks which have killed many of the group's most senior military commanders, he insisted: "We are strong.

"They [Israelis] are dreaming. We will make them mad because they will never be able to hurt our military capability."

Israel's defence minister has appeared to hint at a possible ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Yoav Gallant told forces stationed on Israel's northern border: "The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one.

"In order to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities, we will employ all of our capabilities, and this includes you."

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli strike on Friday.

A statement from the media and foreign affairs adviser to Mr Gallant said he was briefed by commanders on the ground about the readiness of troops for the possibility of "expanding activities" in the north.

Here are some photos from his visit...

Israeli special forces are conducting probing operations inside Lebanon ahead of a potential ground assault.

An Israeli official told our US partner network NBC News that small forces operations had been launched into southern Lebanon.

The operations are designed to gather intelligence and probe Hezbollah's positions.

The official cautioned that such operations have been going on for months and do not necessarily signal the imminent start of a ground assault.

So far, the scope of Israel's operation in Lebanon has been unclear, but officials have said a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is a possibility.

Israel has moved thousands of troops towards the border in preparation.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it was mobilising additional reserve soldiers as tensions escalate with Lebanon, activating three battalions.

The call came after it sent two brigades to northern Israel earlier in the week to train for a possible ground invasion.

By Alex Crawford, special correspondent in Lebanon

Diggers are trying to pull up rubble and large slabs of collapsed concrete after Israeli airstrikes levelled two residential blocks.

The village of Ain El Delb, on the outskirts of Sidon (a large city about 40 minutes drive from the Lebanese capital) has mobilised all its Civil Defence and emergency workers in a rescue and recovery operation.

One civil defence worker told us: "This is a literal massacre."

He said he'd never worked on such a devastating sight.

"This is a war crime," Moeman Khatib told us.

More than 30 people are known to have died so far, but the rescue workers were able to pull out some survivors from the rubble after being guided by cries and live-streamed videos on various social media platforms.

There are believed to be at least 50 others injured, and there are more still thought to be trapped.

Emergency workers who are still digging don't know if they are alive or dead.

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor, and Sophia McBride, security and defence producer

A United Nations agency has confirmed an individual described by Israel as the leader of Hamas in Lebanon was a UN employee after he was killed in an Israeli strike.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) said Fateh Al Sharif had been under investigation over his political activities and had been on "administrative leave" since March.

The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had "eliminated" Sharif in a strike in Lebanon, accusing him of coordinating "terror activities" with members of Hezbollah.

Both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas, which is based in Gaza, are backed by Iran. The two organisations are proscribed as terrorist groups by the UK and the United States.

Sharif "led the Hamas terrorist organisation's force build-up efforts in Lebanon and operated to advance Hamas' interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily", the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Asked about claims that he worked for UNWRA, the agency said: "Fateh Al Sharif was an UNRWA employee who was put on administrative leave without pay in March, and was undergoing an investigation following allegations that UNRWA received about his political activities."

Israel will doubtless seize on the confirmation as further evidence of links between the UN body in Gaza and Hamas.

Last year, the Israeli government accused more than a dozen of UNWRA's Gaza employees of involvement in the October 7 atrocities.

That allegation prompted a number of countries, including the UK under the Conservatives, to suspend funding to the agency.

But in July this year, the new Labour government reinstated payments.

In the wake of Israel's allegations, UNRWA sacked 10 employees, while the UN's Office of Internal Oversight launched an investigation into the claims.

In April, the body said eight staff remained under investigation, with inquiries suspended in four of the cases because of insufficient evidence.

It added it had also begun investigations into an additional seven staff members, and six of those cases were ongoing.

While we have been focusing on the unfolding situation in Lebanon, the war in Gaza has continued raging on.

In its latest figures, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 41,615 people have now been killed since the conflict erupted on 7 October.

A further 96,359 people have been injured, it added.

The figures reported by the ministry do not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

For context: While some Israeli officials have sought to cast doubt on fatality figures given out by the ministry, a number of independent groups say they have proved to be largely reliable and broadly in line with those later produced by the UN and Israel itself.

Examination of data from previous Gaza conflicts - the Hamas-run health ministry's counts compared with the post-war United Nations analysis - shows that the initial data is largely accurate with, at most, a 10-12% discrepancy.

Last month, the Israeli military said that more than 17,000 Hamas fighters are among those killed in Gaza but it has not provided evidence.

The Kremlin has condemned the killing of Hezbollah's leader.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the death of Hassan Nasrallah had led to serious destabilisation in the broader region.

Speaking about the recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, he warned that they could create a humanitarian catastrophe similar to the one in Gaza.

Nasrallah was just one of several Hezbollah officials that have been killed in intensifying Israeli strikes over the past couple of weeks.

Over the weekend, medical and security sources said Nasrallah's body was found "intact" in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh - where senior members of the militant group were gathered.

He was found with no direct wounds and is believed to have died from the blunt trauma of the explosion.

Hezbollah confirmed senior official Ali Karaki was also killed in Friday's strike.