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xinhua news agency, beijing, october 1 (xinhua) the israeli military announced in the early morning of october 1 that it had launched a "limited" ground offensive against hezbollah targets on the southern border of lebanon. a u.s. official told the israeli media that israel's invasion of lebanon in 1982 was initially claimed to be "limited" and later evolved into an 18-year occupation of southern lebanon.

claimed to be "limited"

an idf statement said that based on "accurate intelligence," the israeli military began to conduct "limited, localized and targeted" ground strikes against hezbollah targets and military facilities in southern lebanon. the targets were located in multiple border villages and posed a "direct threat" to residential areas in northern israel.

the statement said that after months of training and preparations, the israeli army troops are carrying out operations in southern lebanon in accordance with the "northern arrow" combat plan formulated by the israeli army general staff and the northern command, and have obtainedisraelair and artillery "precision" fire support.

according to lebanese media reports, more than 20 towns, villages and other places on the southern border of lebanon were subjected to violent air strikes and shelling by the israeli army on september 30, killing at least 95 people and injuring 172 people.

some media reported that the lebanese government forces withdrew 5 kilometers from multiple positions in southern lebanon on the evening of september 30. the lebanese military clarified on october 1 that the government forces were redeploying some forward observation posts in the mission area and continued to cooperate and coordinate with the united nations interim force in lebanon.

in order to dispel u.s. concerns about the israeli invasion of lebanon, two israeli officials told the u.s.-based axios news website that the ground operation would be "limited" in time and scope and was not intended to occupy southern lebanon.

an unnamed u.s. official told the times of israel on the evening of september 30 that the u.s. government understands and accepts israel’s rhetoric on ground operations, but is still worried that the israeli military will get bogged down in lebanon or will have to expand its operations in the future. . another u.s. official shared the same concerns. when israel invaded lebanon in 1982, it also claimed it was "limited." however, it later turned into an occupation of southern lebanon and did not complete its withdrawal until 2000.

israeli goals

an israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the israeli military has informed the u.s. military that the "limited" ground operation is aimed at dismantling hezbollah armed positions along israel's northern border and creating conditions for a diplomatic agreement to allow hezbollah to in compliance with united nations security council resolution 1701, the party’s armed forces withdrew to the north of the litani river.

resolution 1701 was adopted by the security council on august 11, 2006, aiming to end the lebanese-israeli conflict that broke out on july 12 of the same year. it stipulates that no one, except lebanese government troops and united nations peacekeeping forces, is allowed between the litani river and the "blue line". the presence of any other armed forces. the blue line is the temporary boundary drawn by the united nations between lebanon and the israeli-occupied golan heights. the litani river is approximately 30 kilometers away from the blue line.

resolution 1701 also requires both lebanon and israel to fully respect the blue line. any crossing of the blue line by ground or air without un permission violates the resolution. the resolution also authorizes the peacekeeping forces to take all necessary actions within their capabilities to ensure that their area of ​​operations, between the litani river and the blue line, is not used for any type of hostilities.

according to reuters, as early as this roundpalestinian-israeli conflictbefore the outbreak last october, peacekeeping forces had reported to the security council from time to time violations of resolutions by hezbollah and israel. a report in november 2022 stated that hezbollah continued to deploy weapons not controlled by the lebanese government south of the litani river, and israeli military aircraft and drones continued to violate lebanese airspace.

after the current round of palestinian-israeli conflict broke out, hezbollah launched air strikes on israel's northern border in response to the palestinian islamic resistance movement (hamas) fighting the israeli army in the gaza strip. the israeli army responded with air strikes and artillery shelling. the two sides exchange fire across the blue line on a daily basis. this situation has suddenly escalated recently. the israeli army has carried out large-scale air strikes and successively carried out "targeted killings" of hezbollah leadership, and assembled a large number of armored troops.

multi-line punching

according to reuters, the ground invasion of lebanon marks another escalation of the conflict between israel and the "arc of resistance" of the anti-israel alliance in the region dominated by israel. members of the "arc of resistance" include hamas, hezbollah, yemen's houthi armed forces, and iraqi,syriasome militias backed by iran.

two palestinian security officials said that in the early morning of october 1, israel carried out air strikes on the ain halwa refugee camp near the southern lebanese city of sidon. this is the first israeli airstrike in lebanon's largest palestinian refugee camp since this round of conflict. the target was munir magda, the commander of the lebanese branch of the al-aqsa martyrs brigade of the palestinian national liberation movement (fatah). the airstrike killed and injured many civilians, but magda was not present when the incident occurred.

fatah is the mainstream faction of the palestine liberation organization and is led by palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas. the palestinian national authority basically controls the west bank and cooperates with the israeli military and police in public security. however, after this round of conflict broke out, some fatah officials still died at the hands of the israeli army.

the day before, israeli air strikes in the center of beirut, the capital of lebanon, killed three leaders of the popular front for the liberation of palestine, another major faction of the plo.

the syrian military said that in the early morning of october 1, israeli warplanes and drones launched three rounds of air strikes on multiple locations in damascus, the syrian capital, from the direction of the occupied golan heights. the syrian air defense system shot down most of the incoming missiles. the airstrike killed three civilians and injured nine others. according to reports from syrian state television, safa ahmed, a female anchor of this media, was hit by shrapnel and died at her home. the israeli military declined to respond to relevant media reports.

israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in syria for more than a decade. according to a report by türkiye's "hurriyet" on september 30, syria may become israel's next attack target after lebanon. turkish foreign minister hakan fidan said earlier that the turkish government has speculated on which countries will become israel's next target, but will not announce it to the public.

this report wrote that turkish president recep tayyip erdogan once warned that if israel is not stopped in the gaza strip, the war will spread to the entire region. "the war has spread from gaza to lebanon. will it sweep into syria in a few months? war is already knocking on the door, and president (bashar) assad must be alert to this." (hu ruoyu)