West Jerusalem informed the US of a “limited incursion” in advance
Israeli soldiers work on tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC) in northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. © AP Photo/Leo Correa
Ground troops of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have crossed the border into southern Lebanon, in what anonymous US officials described as “a limited ground incursion” aimed against Hezbollah.
The invasion comes after more than a week of air and missile strikes that killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon. Among the dead were several senior Hezbollah officials, including the group’s long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Unconfirmed reports quoted by several news agencies have indicated that Lebanese troops retreated approximately 5km away from the Israeli border late on Monday, in anticipation of the attack.
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01 October 2024
01:40 GMT
Palestinian security officials have claimed that Israel’s Tuesday airstrikes on the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon were targeted at Mounir Maqdah, a senior commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah’ movement’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Maqdah’s fate remains unknown, according to Reuters.
- 01:10 GMT
The Israeli military operation in Lebanon is a “focused and limited mission” with no intention of occupying the southern part of the country, Axios reporter Barak Ravid claimed, citing two unnamed Israeli officials.
- 01:10 GMT
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett applauded the IDF’s military operation in Lebanon, writing on social media that “enough is enough.” He added that each soldier crossing the border is on a mission “to protect the citizens of Israel.”
- 00:58 GMT
Al Jazeera’s Arabic account has shared a video on X purporting to show Israeli tanks amassing on the border with Lebanon.
صور تظهر حشد الجيش الإسرائيلي لدباباته على الحدود مع جنوب #لبنان#حرب_غزةpic.twitter.com/OxO5qFTdF7
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) September 30, 2024
- 00:53 GMT
The IDF conducted a series of airstrikes on the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in the coastal city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported.
The news channel MTV Lebanon said that the strike appeared to have “targeted a figure in the camp.”
- 00:35 GMT
The Israeli military has said that at least 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon. While some of the rockets were successfully intercepted, others crashed in remote areas, the IDF said. No damage or casualties were reported.
- 00:21 GMT
Several people have been killed and wounded in a series of Israeli strikes on the western districts of Damascus, the state Syrian media said.
A Syrian state television channel has also reported that its anchor, Safaa Ahmad, has been killed in the strikes.
According to the Sham FM radio station, the airstrikes were launched simultaneously with the start of the IDF ground raids in Lebanon.
Israel typically neither confirms nor denies its involvement in the strikes in Syria. West Jerusalem, however, has accused Hezbollah and other militants of using Syrian territory for attacks on Israelis.
- 00:04 GMT
The IDF said that it intercepted a UAV in the sky over the Mediterranean Sea. The drone was detected several dozen kilometers west of the coast of Israel in the central region of the country, the Israeli military said on X.
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30 September 2024
23:33 GMT
The Syrian state media have reported explosions in the sky over Damascus, with air defense systems intercepting “hostile targets” in the vicinity of the Syrian capital.
- 23:25 GMT
On its English-language account on X, the IDF said it is “operating according to a methodical plan set out by the General Staff and the Northern Command” and that Israeli soldiers have been training and preparing for this operation for months.
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