The IDF says it has begun \u201climited and targeted\u201d moves against Hezbollah strongholds in order to protect residents of northern Israel<\/p>\n
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that its troops launched a ground offensive against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon on Monday. The operations are said to be aimed at increasing security for residents of northern Israel.\u00a0
\nIn a statement on X, the IDF explained that the \u201climited and targeted ground operations against key Hezbollah strongholds\u201d are \u201cpart of broader defensive efforts to establish and strengthen a forward defensive posture, which includes the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area.\u201d\u00a0
\nThe Israeli military noted that prior to the entry of its ground troops into the area, it carried out artillery and airstrikes against \u201cnumerous terrorist targets in order to mitigate threats in the operational environment.\u201d
\nIsrael has launched numerous airstrikes on Lebanon over the past weeks in retaliation for Hezbollah\u2019s rocket launches. The militant movement, in turn, was responding to the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes late last month.\u00a0
\nIsrael\u2019s bombing of Lebanon has included strikes on residential districts, as well as the headquarters of the Ghana Battalion in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and a Russian cultural center in the southern city of Nabatieh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Pope Leo condemns US-Israeli war on Iran<\/p>\n
Over 800 civilians are believed to have been killed in the Israeli attacks, including over 100 children, according to the Lebanese authorities. The country\u2019s health ministry also stated that at least 31 health professionals have been killed and 51 wounded since March 2. It said the IDF has carried out over 37 attacks against emergency medical workers in Lebanon.
\nThe Israeli strikes on Lebanon have sparked international condemnation, including in the Vatican, where Pope Leo XIV has raised \u201cgreat concern\u201d over the attacks, stressing that \u201cviolence can never lead to justice, stability and peace.\u201d
\nMoscow condemned the bombing of its cultural center as an \u201cunprovoked act of aggression\u201d by Israel, stressing that the facility \u201cwas not involved in any military activity\u201d and that the strike was unjustifiable.
\nUN experts have also blasted Israel\u2019s strikes on Lebanon, calling them a \u201cflagrant violation of the UN Charter, international humanitarian law and human rights law,\u201d calling on the IDF to cease its attacks \u201cimmediately.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The IDF says it has begun \u201climited and targeted\u201d moves against Hezbollah strongholds in order to protect residents of northern Israel The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31329,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t