Israel-Hezbollah latest: Israeli special forces ‘conducting Lebanon raids’ ahead of possible ground invasion
Defence minister tells troops near border that Israel ‘will use all the forces from the air, sea and land’ as an airstrike hits Beirut for the first time in 18 years
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Israeli special forces are said to be conducting small-group raids into southern Lebanon to gather intelligence on Hezbollah positions, with Israel’s defence minister hinting at a ground invasion.
Yoav Gallant was quoted by Iasraeli media as telling armoured corps troops near the Lebanon border: “To return the resident of the north safely to their homes we will activate all our capabilities - including you.”
"We will use all the forces from the air, sea and land," he added.
It comes as the deputy leader of Hezbollah vowed to be ready for an Israeli invasion.
In his first speech since Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah over the weekend, the group’s deputy chief Naim Qassem said he was confident Hezbollah could push Israeliforces back like during the war in 2006.
“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.”
Israel intensified its airstrikes on Monday, hitting central Beirut for the first time since 2006, while also killing Hamas’s leader in Lebanon in the southern city of Tyre.
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Biden vows to talk to Netanyahu, saying war must be avoided
US president Joe Biden has said an all-out war “has to be avoided” in the Middle East and he aims to speak to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but he did not say when.
“I’ll tell you what I say to him when I talk to him,” he told reporters. Asked whether all-out war in the Middle East could be avoided, he replied: “It has to be. We really have to avoid it.”
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