Israel Expands Lebanon Ground Offensive Amidst Clashes with Hezbollah

Israel’s six-week-old military operation in southern Lebanon has intensified, with ground forces expanding their sweep into new villages and engaging in heavy clashes with Hezbollah militants, Bloomberg reports.

This escalation comes as US-led ceasefire efforts remain stalled.

Israeli officials confirmed on Tuesday that the army advanced beyond its initial 3km operational zone, targeting a “second line” of Lebanese communities. Simultaneously, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported airstrikes against over 30 Hezbollah sites in Beirut over the past two days. The intensified offensive follows a Hezbollah ambush on Wednesday that killed six Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli media and confirmed by an army spokesperson who declined further comment.

The ground offensive, launched on October 1st, aims to weaken Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, after a year of cross-border attacks. The IDF hopes to enable the return of tens of thousands of residents displaced from northern Israel. The ground operation complements ongoing airstrikes that have reportedly killed several senior Hezbollah members, including a former leader.

The conflict has resulted in a devastating toll on Lebanon. The country’s Health Ministry reports 2,755 deaths and 1.2 million displaced people since mid-September.

While Israel has previously expressed openness to a truce based on a 2006 UN Security Council resolution – requiring Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the southern border – Defense Minister Israel Katz stated Wednesday that Israel’s military objectives remain paramount.

“We shall not enter any ceasefires, take our foot off the pedal nor allow any arrangement that does not entail achieving the war’s goals,” Katz declared.

Although Israel claims progress in ceasefire negotiations mediated by the US, Lebanon disputes this, asserting a lack of concrete proposals. A major sticking point remains Israel’s insistence on retaining the right to resume military operations against Hezbollah should any truce agreement be violated – a condition Beirut is likely to reject.

Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on Israel, launched in solidarity with Hamas following the start of the Gaza war last October, complicate the situation. The group has tied any ceasefire to a simultaneous truce in Gaza, a prospect currently considered unlikely.

Yoni Chetboun, a former deputy speaker of the Knesset and reserve lieutenant-colonel, explained the expansion of ground operations as a strategy to enhance Israel’s diplomatic leverage and cripple Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities.