Israeli troops have entered southern Lebanon, the military says, to dismantle infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, in its latest near-daily violation of its November ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group.
The military said in a statement on Wednesday that it had launched “special, targeted operations” to destroy Hezbollah facilities and prevent the group from “reestablishing itself in the area”.
It claimed the ground incursion had been launched, acting on “intelligence information and the identification of Hezbollah weapons and terrorist infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon”.
The army statement said the 9th Brigade was in the Labbouneh area, while troops from the 300th Brigade were operating in the Jabal Blat area further west – both within sight of the border.
It shared a video captioned “footage from a targeted nighttime operation of the 9th Brigade in southern Lebanon”, troops were shown walking on the ground.
The army has not commented on whether the incursion marks the first time it has operated on the ground in Lebanon since agreeing to the United States-brokered ceasefire in November 2024.
Since striking the deal, which sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah – including several months of all-out war – Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes across Lebanon, including multiple strikes on the capital, Beirut.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, but numerous civilians have been killed and wounded, and residential buildings were destroyed.
Israeli attacks across Lebanon
The new operation was announced as Israel intensified its strikes in Lebanon amid Hezbollah’s weakened position, the Lebanese army staying on the sidelines and the international community’s failure to pressure Israel to abide by the truce.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeatedly asked the US and Israel to rein in Israel’s attacks on the country.
