Israel-Hezbollah latest: Just look

The United States and Israel are still in discussions “about the best way forward,” the Pentagon said on Monday, as it referred reporters to Israel for questions about whether it was planning a ground offensive in Lebanon.

“We’re continuing to engage with them, trying to learn more. We continue discussions on the best way forward,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told a news briefing.

Singh also said Israel gave US notice but did not coordinate its Sunday strikes in Yemen with the United States.

Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that they will escalate military operations against Israel in response to its attacks on the country, a day after an Israeli attack against Houthi targets, which the Yemeni group's spokesperson said left five killed and 57 injured.

Israel is set to launch a limited ground offensive in Lebanon as soon as today, a US official is reported to have confirmed.

The BBC reports Israel has told the US that it intends to launch the ground incursion, with the official saying the operation could begin on Monday – although The Independent has not independently verified the report.

Germany has evacuated non-essential staff, families of embassy workers and German nationals who are medically vulnerable out of Lebanon and will support others trying to leave, a joint statement by the foreign and defence ministries said on Monday.

The German foreign ministry raised its crisis level for missions in Beirut, Ramallah and Tel Aviv again at the weekend, though the embassies there remain operational.

There are currently 1,800 registered German citizens in Lebanon, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Monday.

A source told Reuters that 110 people would be evacuated on Monday in a flight taking off from Beirut.

“The embassy continues to support the remaining Germans in Lebanon in their efforts to leave the country via commercial flights and other means. The Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defense continue to coordinate very closely on this,” the statement said.

Israel has hit Lebanon with a two-week wave of attacks, eliminating Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and several commanders but also killing around 1,000 Lebanese and forcing 1 million to flee their homes. Hezbollah has pledged to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon.

Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested Iran would be free “sooner than people think”.

In an address on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister told Iranians their government was bringing them "closer to the abyss".

He said Iran and Israel would be at peace when Iran is "finally free", which would "come a lot sooner than people think".

Referring to Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, killed on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut, Netanyahu also said that "puppets" of the Iranian "regime" were eliminated every day.

Israel has ramped up attacks on militant targets in Lebanon against Hezbollah, the best armed of militant groups across the Middle East aligned with Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Iranians on Monday that there was nowhere in the Middle East beyond Israel's reach, two days after Israel's military killed the leader of Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Netanyahu, speaking in English in a 3-minute-long video released by his office in which he said he was addressing the Iranian people, blamed the Iranian government for plunging the Middle East "deeper into war" at the cost of its own people.

"There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country," Netanyahu said.

US President Joe Biden called for a ceasefire on Monday when asked about reports that Israel is preparing for a limited ground invasion of Lebanon in its fight against Hezbollah militants.

Biden, asked if he was comfortable with Israel's plan, said, "I'm comfortable with them stopping."

The next phase of the war along the southern border of Lebanon is set to begin shortly, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday, as at least two US newspapers reported that special forces may have already made short incursions.

"The next stage in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon," Gallant told a meeting of local council heads in northern Israel, according to a statement from his office. He said the next phase would contribute to achieving the war aim of returning residents evacuated from the area to their homes.

Hezbollah on Monday said in a statement it had attacked Israel using a "Nour Missile", which sources familiar with Hezbollah say is a ballistic missile.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot again urged Israel on Monday not to undertake any ground invasion of Lebanon, adding France will step up its support for the Lebanese army.

"I (...) urge Israel to refrain from any ground incursion and to cease fire. I call on Hezbollah to do the same and to refrain from any action likely to lead to regional destabilisation," Barrot told reporters while visiting Lebanon.

Israel has hit Lebanon with a two-week wave of attacks, eliminating Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and several commanders but also killing around 1,000 Lebanese and forcing 1 million to flee their homes. Hezbollah has pledged to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon.