Israel rejects US-backed Lebanon ceasefireIsraeli forces preparing for potential ground offensive in Lebanon proposal…….
Israel conducts military exercise near Lebanon border
Israel’s military carries out strike in Beirut
Blast heard in Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Israel rejected proposals on Thursday for a ceasefire with Hezbollah and conducted a military exercise simulating manoeuvres in Lebanon, defying allies including the United States which had called for an immediate halt in fighting.
Israel’s relentless pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, including intense airstrikes and assassinations of some of its senior commanders raised concern that it will mount a ground invasion which would lead to a wider war in the region. The military, which has vowed to secure Israel’s northern border and return thousands of its citizens to their communities there, said the exercise of its 7th brigade took place a few kilometres from the Lebanese border.
Shortly afterwards the Israeli military said it was carrying out precise strikes in Beirut, where the sound of a blast was heard and smoke was seen rising in the southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. “There will be no ceasefire in the north,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X. “We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.” The comments dashed hopes for a swift settlement, after Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati had expressed hope that a ceasefire could be reached soon, Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes seeking safety in the face of the heaviest Israeli bombardment since a 2006 war. World leaders have voiced concern that the conflict – running in parallel to Israel’s war in Gaza – was escalating rapidly.
Hezbollah has faced off against the Israeli military since the Shi’ite Muslim movement was created by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to counter an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It has since evolved into Tehran’s most powerful Middle East proxy.
Israeli forces preparing for potential ground offensive in Lebanon
Israel is preparing for a potential ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the head of Israel’s military said, as world leaders seek to secure a halt in the fighting. The announcement came in a speech Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Force, gave to troops Wednesday during a visit to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. “You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day,” he said, according to a statement from the IDF. “This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.” Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging attacks over the Lebanese border since Oct. 8, a day after Israel’s war with Hamas, another Iran-backed militia, began when the militant group attacked Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping 251 others.
Fears of the conflict devolving into an all-out war have skyrocketed since last week when communications devices held by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon exploded in an daring, coordinated attack blamed on Israel, leading to further intensification of the cross-border fighting.
Hezbollah has responded by continuing its cross-border barrages of Israel. Halevi told his troops Wednesday to be prepared, for the goal of the potential ground incursion would be to make the area safe for northern Israelis to return to their homes. “We are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, will enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts, with underground infrastructure, staging points and launchpads into our territory and carry out attacks on Israeli civilians,” he said.
“Your entry into those areas with force, your encounter with Hezbollah operatives, will show them what it means to face a professional, highly skilled and battle-experienced force. “You will go in, destroy the enemy there and decisively destroy their infrastructure.”
Prior to Halevi’s speech, the IDF announced that it was calling up two reserve brigades for “operational missions in the northern arena.” The announcement is expected to increase already sky-high fears of the conflict turning into a full-fledged war. Later Wednesday, the United States said it and its allies are pushing for a 21-day cease-fire along the Lebanon border in order to create a window in which to negotiate an end to the fighting.