Turkey slams Israeli ground offensive in south Lebanon

The Turkish Foreign Ministry says Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon violates the country’s territorial sovereignty. The move is an illegal occupation attempt by Israel, a statement said, adding the operation must immediately end with Israeli forces withdrawing from Lebanon.

The UN Security Council must “do what is necessary” in line with international law, it said. It condemned Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon as an “unlawful invasion attempt”.

“This attack must end as soon as possible and Israeli soldiers must withdraw from Lebanese territory,” the statement said.

_{The aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday}

Israeli forces tell residents of 25 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate

The Israeli army has issued an “urgent” warning to residents of 25 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately.

“The IDF [Israeli army] does not want to harm you, and for your own safety you must evacuate your homes immediately,” the statement posted on X said. “Any home used by Hezbollah for its military needs is expected to be targeted.”

It added that residents should immediately head north of the Awali River, some 60km (36 miles) from the border and much farther than the Litani River, which marks the northern edge of a UN-declared zone that was intended to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah after their war in 2006.

“Be careful, you are not allowed to go south. Going south could put your life in danger,” it said. “We will let you know when it is safe to return home.”

TV channel HQ in south Beirut destroyed in Israeli attack

Israeli fighter jets have attacked a television channel’s headquarters in Beirut, in what is described as the first targeting of a Lebanese media institution during the conflict. The late Monday attack levelled the building of the pro-Hezbollah As-Sirat TV channel in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Shortly before the attack, the Israeli army ordered staffers to leave, claiming the site was being used for producing “combat means”, according to Anadolu news agency. Hezbollah denied storing weapons inside civilian buildings, including the As-Sirat office.

No casualties were reported in the attack.

غارة اسرائيلية على مبنى قناة الصراط الثقافية https://t.co/mo6ASjBI0Y#lebanon24 pic.twitter.com/hWDOpz8K3M

— Lebanon 24 (@Lebanon24) October 1, 2024

UNIFIL says Israel informed it before attacks, peacekeepers ‘in position’

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon says the Israeli army notified it of its intention to undertake a limited ground offensive into the country.

UNIFIL said in a statement that despite the developments, peacekeepers remain in position. It urged all actors to step back from escalatory acts.

“Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said.

UNSC’s Resolution 1701 ended the monthlong war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and called for a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, allowing the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers as the only armed forces south of the Litani River.

Peacekeepers have failed miserably. UNIFIL is useless.

Hezbollah denies Israeli troops crossed into Lebanon

Hezbollah has denied that Israeli forces crossed into southern Lebanon after Israel said its forces were carrying out “limited” raids there. “All Zionist claims that [Israeli] occupation forces have entered Lebanon are false,” Hezbollah media relations official Muhammad Afif told Al Jazeera.

He added there had “not yet been any direct ground clashes between [Hezbollah] resistance fighters and occupation forces”.

“Our fighters are ready to confront enemy forces that dare or attempt to enter Lebanon,” he said.

Israel, Lebanon telling ‘their versions of truth’ about ground offensive

Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator and lecturer at Reichman University, says he doesn’t believe that Israel is lying about sending ground troops into Lebanon despite Hezbollah’s denial.

“It’s a grey area,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv. “This isn’t an invasion force. This isn’t an expeditionary force. There are no tanks. There are no infantry troops. These are mostly commando units.”

Goldberg said it is possible that Israeli forces are likely focusing on known Hezbollah installations or similar targets.

“So, in that sense, if Hezbollah was expecting an invasion, then Hezbollah’s statements are correct. Israel, however, has been exactly saying that this is what the force is,” he said. “So both sides are telling their version of the truth.”

Israel defence minister briefs Pentagon chief on Lebanon assault

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says he spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on its ground offensive in southern Lebanon.

“We agreed on the importance of dismantling attack infrastructure along the northern border to prevent attacks by Hezbollah against Israeli citizens. I briefed the Secretary on the localized and targeted raids … against Hezbollah targets,” said Gallant.

“We also discussed ongoing threats posed by Iran and its proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Syria. Emphasized the importance of US force posture and the interoperability of US and Israeli defensive capabilities.”

Photos: Aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs


_{The destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli air strike on the Laylaki neighbourhood in southern Beirut}

_{The destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli air strike on the Bir el-Abed neighbourhood}

_{The destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli air strike on the Ruwais neighbourhood}

UN warns against ‘large-scale ground invasion’ in Lebanon

Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN rights office, has warned against a “large-scale ground invasion” of Lebanon.

“With armed violence between Israel and Hezbollah boiling over, the consequences for civilians have already been terrible,” she told reporters in Geneva. “We fear a large-scale ground invasion by Israel into Lebanon would only result in greater suffering,” Throssell said.

Before the ground assault, Israel’s escalating strikes on Lebanon reportedly killed more than 1,000 people in just two weeks, she added.

Spain insists Israel halt ground offensive into Lebanon

Israel should not conduct ground raids in southern Lebanon to avoid an escalation of the conflict, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says.

“We insist that the ground incursion should be halted, as we’re receiving very worrying information,” Albares said, adding that it was “necessary to reach a truce in Lebanon and a ceasefire in Gaza”.

Albares also condemned Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on Israeli territory. He said the only way to achieve peace was if belligerents complied with international humanitarian law and respected the protections accorded to civilians.

Since February 2022, Spain has commanded the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and deployed 650 troops along the southern Lebanese border with Israel.

Israeli forces met ‘fierce resistance’ during late-night ground offensive

Ali Rizk, a security and political affairs analyst based in Beirut, says Israeli troops attempted to “overwhelm” Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon late last night but were repelled and forced to withdraw.

“What the Israeli side might be doing is a propaganda war when they speak about successfully entering Lebanese territory.  So this might be part of an Israeli psychological war, which wouldn’t be the first time they resort to such tactics,” Rizk told Al Jazeera.

“We’ll have to see how the ground invasion unfolds. But – according to a source with ties to Hezbollah –  the Israelis did meet fierce resistance in the late hours of last night. It does appear this is not going to be an easy battle for Israel, even if Hezbollah has lost its leader and senior military commanders. That still leaves Hezbollah to be a formidable foe to inflict heavy costs on the Israelis in their ground invasion.”

UK’s Lammy says Israel must avoid getting ‘bogged down’ in Lebanon

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said that nobody wants a return to the past with Israel fighting in southern Lebanon over a long period, adding the price of a regional Middle Eastern war would be “huge”.

“None of us want to return to the years in which Israel found itself bogged down in a quagmire in southern Lebanon,” Lammy told broadcasters. “None of us want to see a regional war. The price would be huge for the Middle East and it would have a significant effect on the global economy.”

Hezbollah slams attack on Lebanese television channel

The group’s media relations office condemned the attack on the headquarters of as-Sirat TV channel in Beirut’s southern suburbs as “barbaric and destructive”. “We express our full solidarity with the institution, its management and its employees,” a statement on Telegram said.

Israel continues “its barbarism and aggression against all media institutions, starting with targeting journalists in Gaza and Lebanon”, it added. Hezbollah said Israel has acted “without any deterrent and without any regard for international laws and conventions”.

News reports earlier said the attack levelled the building, claiming it was used by Hezbollah for “combat means”. No casualties were reported. Hezbollah denies storing weapons inside civilian buildings.

Lebanon parliament speaker calls for UN air bridge for aid

Lebanon’s powerful parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, called for a United Nations air bridge to expedite aid deliveries for almost one million people displaced by Israeli attacks.

Berri called on the UN to establish an “air bridge to ensure the delivery of relief supplies”, a statement issued by his office said. It also urged the international and Lebanese Red Cross to “carry out their duties in delivering relief and medical supplies to south Lebanon”.

Israeli army says dozens of rockets fired at northern areas from Lebanon

About 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the last few hours, an Israeli military statement says.

Some 15 were fired at the Upper Galilee region and sparked blazes after falling in open areas, it said, adding that firefighters were working to extinguish them.

Approximately 15 others were launched at the Western Galilee, also landing in open areas, the statement said.

Hundreds flee to southern Lebanon monastery to seek refuge from Israeli attacks

Local residents have told Reuters that at least 600 people sought refuge in a monastery on the Israel-Lebanon border after the Israeli army warned them to flee their Christian village of Ain Ebl.

The villagers went to the monastery in the town of Rmeish, which did not receive an Israeli warning, and were waiting for an army convoy to escort them to Beirut, the residents told the news agency.

An Israeli military spokesperson had earlier warned residents of Ain Ebl and at least 20 other towns to evacuate their homes immediately because the military said it would target homes that Hezbollah was allegedly using. The group denies using civilian facilities.

Lebanon’s war displaced move to a beach in Beirut

<sub>Children play at the makeshift encampment where many people forced from their homes by Israeli strikes


More than 1 million people in Lebanon are now on the move after Israeli bombardment</sub>

Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches under homes and uncovering invasion plans by the group.

Hagari said the details were being declassified, hours after Israel announced a ground operation against the Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has denied that Israel had started a ground operation.

Hagari said that the findings and evidence discovered under homes in villages in southern Lebanon during the raids will be presented to the international community.

They have better surveillance on Gaza and there all the 'evidence' turned out to be nonsense, like claiming a Calendar with the names of the days in Arabic in a school was a Hamas guard roster. Or that animation of Hamas HQ under Al Shifa which was never found.

I guess they learned from the best, "WMD in Iraq"

China ‘opposes infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’

China denounced “infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty” after Israel said it launched a ground offensive against its neighbour.

“China … opposes infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and opposes any actions that exacerbate conflicts and lead to a further escalation of the regional situation,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Erdogan says Turkey will stand by Lebanon

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey would support Lebanon with all its means after Israel launched raids as part of a “limited” ground incursion.

“We will never leave our Lebanese brothers on their own in these difficult days and will support them with all our means,” Erdogan said in a speech at the reopening of the Turkish parliament following its summer recess.