Israel launches small ground raids against Hizbollah as fight in Lebanon intensifies

The Israeli military launched small ground raids against Hizbollah and sealed off communities along its northern border on Monday as Israeli artillery pounded southern Lebanon and signals grew that more forces could soon be sent across the border to fight the Hizbollah.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel informed the US about the raids, which he said were described as “limited operations focused on Hizbollah infrastructure near the border.”
There were no reports of direct clashes between Israeli troops and Hizbollah members, who last engaged in ground combat on Lebanese soil during a monthlong war in 2006.
But a Western diplomat in Cairo whose country is directly involved in de-escalation efforts said an Israeli ground operation in Lebanon is “imminent.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said Israel had shared its plans with the US and other Western allies, and conveyed the operation will “be limited.”
In the clearest Israeli statement on the imminent ground incursion into southern Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that the next phase of the war along the southern border of Lebanon will begin soon. Gallant said in a meeting of heads of local councils in northern Israel: “The next phase of the war against Hizbollah will begin soon.”
This came after Gallant told infantry and tank brigades in the north that Israel was preparing to enter Lebanon using infantry, tanks, ships and air power.
He added: “The elimination of Nasrallah is a very important step, but it is not the final step,” explaining: “Israel will use all available capabilities that may be required – your forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea and on the ground.”
Indeed, Israeli forces have carried out short incursions in recent days that were intended to pave the way for a broader ground invasion in the near future, according to six Israeli officers and officials who spoke to the New York Times, while other sources said that the ground invasion may be this week and could be changed at any moment.
It appears that the goal of the Israeli commandos who entered southern Lebanon before returning focused on gathering intelligence on Hizbollah positions near the border, as well as identifying the party’s tunnels and military infrastructure, in preparation for attacks from the air or the ground.
It is notable that in the weeks before Israel invaded Gaza in late October, Israeli soldiers carried out small raids inside Gaza that often lasted less than 12 hours before returning to Israel, to clear the area near the border, including tunnels, according to reservists who took part in the raids.
The short raids follow months of similar covert missions in which Israeli special forces briefly crossed the border to destroy some Hizbollah fortifications but did not attempt to pave the way for an invasion, according to four of the officials.
Two of the officials said the raids have increased in intensity and ambition in recent days as commanders prepared for a broader maneuver.
A ground incursion took place last week, with the Lebanese army informing the United Nations of the presence of Israeli forces in the area between Hanita on the Israeli side and Alma Al-Shaab on the Lebanese side, near the Blue Line, the border drawn by the United Nations after Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.
One official said the Israeli army told the commander of UNIFIL, a multinational peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978 to help secure the border and prevent renewed conflict, that the brief ground incursion was intended to carry out engineering work, and the forces then withdrew.
A US official revealed that Israel informed Washington that it was planning a limited ground operation in Lebanon, adding that the scope of the operation would be smaller than Israel’s war against Hizbollah in Lebanon in 2006 and would focus on securing residential areas near the border.