Israel-Hezbollah latest: Israeli special forces ‘conducting Lebanon raids’ ahead of possible ground invasion

Britian has urged all sides to seek de-escalation and a ceasefire after Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, reiterating that the region needs to pull back from the brink.

“We are ironclad in our support for Israel’s right to self-defence,” a spokesperson for prime minister Keir Starmer said. “But our very clear message now is, on all sides, (for) all parties to show restraint.”

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.

“We want to see all sides step back from the brink,” he said. “Any further escalation must be avoided. A ceasefire will provide the space necessary to find the political solution that is necessary to secure peace in the region.”

More from the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, during his visit to see troops on the Lebanese border.

In a short video, he is seen telling troops that "we will use all the abilities we have and if someone on the other side did not understand what all the abilities mean - it's all the abilities.

"And you are part of this effort, we trust you to be able to accomplish anything."

“Everything that needs to be done – will be done," Mr Gallant adds. "We will use all the forces from the air, sea and land".

Israel has been launching small special forces raids into southern Lebanon as part of a potential ground offensive, according to a number of reports.

Israel officials told NBC News and The Telegraph that they are designed to gather intelligence and probe Hezbollah’s positions. The official went on to say that such operations have been going on for months and do not necessarily signal the imminent start of a ground assault.

But when taken with the words of Mr Gallant mentioned in the previous post, it is clear that Israel is preparing for some form of operation.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant appeared to hint on Monday at a possible ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to reports in the Israeli media.

Gallant was cited by several news outlets as telling armoured corps troops near the Lebanese border: “Nasrallah’s elimination is an important step but it is not the end - to return the resident of the north safely to their homes we will activate all our capabilities - including you.”

Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike in Beirut constituted a use of its right to defend itself, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

“Hezbollah is of course a terrorist organization and it was obviously a meeting of the top leadership of Hezbollah, from which one can assume, even from a distance, that they were planning their further operations,” the spokesperson said.

“So in this respect, there are also reasons to believe that the right to self-defence was exercised here,” he added.

Asked about the civilian deaths in the incident, the spokesperson said “every civilian victim is one civilian victim too many.”

Lebanon’s Hezbollah will choose a successor to its slain secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah “at the earliest opportunity” and will continue the fight against Israel, the Iran-backed group’s deputy chief Naim Qassem said on Monday.

He said the group was continuing its operations, working according to plans already laid out, and described its attacks thus far as the “minimum”, adding that the battle could be long.

We have some quotes from Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem’s first speech since his superior Hassan Nasrallah was killed over the weekend.

“We are confident the Israeli enemy will not achieve its aims,” Qassem said. “We will confront any possibility and are ready if Israel decides to enter by land.”