Ground operation has begun.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-be...nst-hezbollah/
IDF begins ‘targeted ground operation’ to expand south Lebanon buffer against Hezbollah
Katz says displaced Lebanese will not return to area until residents of Israel’s north are safe; IDF strikes terror infrastructure in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it had begun a “targeted ground operation against key targets” in southern Lebanon, pushing more forces deeper into the area as part of an expanded buffer zone, after the Hezbollah terror group began attacking Israel earlier this month amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation would continue until Hezbollah no longer poses a threat to the residents of northern Israel, and said displaced Lebanese would not return to their homes until then.
The 91st “Galilee” Regional Division began a raid late Saturday in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, during which troops encountered and killed several Hezbollah operatives, according to the military. The IDF said the operation was aimed at expanding “the forward defense area.”
“This operation is part of the effort to establish forward defense, including the destruction of terror infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area, to remove threats and create an additional layer of security for residents of the north,” the military said.
Before the troops pushed into the area, the IDF said it carried out massive airstrikes and artillery shelling “to remove threats.” Meanwhile, the 146th Reserve Division remains deployed to the western sector of southern Lebanon, and the 36th Division has been carrying out a raid in the eastern sector.
The defense minister, after holding an assessment with army brass, said: “The IDF has begun a ground maneuver in Lebanon to remove threats and protect the residents of the Galilee and the north.”
“Hundreds of thousands of Shiite residents of south Lebanon who have evacuated and are evacuating from their homes will not return to the area south of the Litani [River] until the safety of the residents of the north is guaranteed,” Katz said.
He added that the operation in south Lebanon is meant to resemble the military’s operations in Gaza during its two-year war against Hamas.
Katz said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have told the military to destroy terror infrastructure close to the border in order to prevent Hezbollah’s return, “just as was done against Hamas in Rafah, Beit Hanoun and the terror tunnels in Gaza.”
The defense minister vowed to restore a sense of security to the residents of northern Israel, saying that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem is hiding underground as his actions make over a million Lebanese “refugees in their own country.”
Katz said that if the Hezbollah chief misses his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah and former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, both of whom were killed by Israel, “he will soon be able to meet them in the depths of hell.”
Hezbollah will pay a “heavy price” for its efforts to destroy Israel, Katz said…….