Israeli artillery shells hit southern Lebanon, September 30 (Image: EPA/Atef Safadi) ISRAEL AND LEBANON The Israeli military overnight launched small ground raids inside southern Lebanon, which US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said were “limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure”, according to AP. Residents of Jdeidet Marjayoun, a Lebanese village less than 10km from the border, had received calls from the Israeli army telling them to evacuate the area as soon as possible, Reuters reports. “The next phase in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon,” was the grim warning from Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant , who spoke to local council heads in his country’s north.
Various sources are reporting that a broader Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon could be imminent, with Al Jazeera saying Gallant told troops Israel would “use all the means that may be required ...
from the air, from the sea, and on land”. The ABC’s Jerusalem correspondent says this “all but confirms” Israel plans to launch a ground offensive. Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy has met with his US counterpart Antony Blinken , with the two apparently agreeing that “the best way forward is an immediate ceasefire” — though it seems unlikely, with reports coming from The Guardian that the Biden administration is losing influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.
“The plan to attack comes at a unique moment — with war .