Israeli troops have started a ground war in southern Lebanon. Here's what we know

CNN
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Israel has launched a so-called “limited ground operation” across its northern border into Lebanon against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, ushering in a new and dangerous phase in nearly a year of war.

The incursion, which Israel's National Security Cabinet has described as the “next phase” of its war with Hezbollah, marks the fourth time in nearly 50 years that Israeli soldiers have publicly set foot on Lebanese soil and the first since Israel's 34-day war in the country earlier this year 2006.

Israeli troops have laid the groundwork for the invasion in recent days, stepping up airstrikes that have killed hundreds of people, destroyed homes and displaced about a million people in Lebanon.

The latest escalation came after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Friday, decimating the leadership of the Middle East's most powerful paramilitary force.

Here's what we know.

Israeli officials described the invasion of southern Lebanon as limited in scope and said there would be “no long-term occupation.”

The Israeli military said it was focused on eliminating “immediate threats” from Lebanese villages along the border, including Hezbollah's ability to penetrate northern Israel.

But officials declined to say how deep Israeli troops would go into the country or how long the operation was expected to last.

Israeli leaders have indicated that further action would follow. On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops near the Lebanese border that the killing of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was “a very important but not the final step” and that “we will use all the capabilities at our disposal.” ”

While the extent of Israel's military plans in Lebanon remains unclear, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasingly defying international calls for restraint and de-escalation, as well as widespread outrage over the increasing number of civilian casualties in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Previous military operations that Israel initially described as limited targets proved far from successful.

Examples of this include Israel's year-long occupation of southern Lebanon, which began in 1982 with the stated aim of carrying out a short and limited mission to destroy the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the country.

Recently, the Israeli military declared a “limited” operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, leaving the city in ruins.

According to Israeli media, Israel's National Security Cabinet approved the “next phase” of its war with Hezbollah shortly before the raid.

In preparation, the Israeli military launched small raids and artillery fire on the Lebanese border and cordoned off several communities in northern Israel, restricting the movement of civilians there.

According to a Lebanese security source, the Lebanese army had also evacuated observation posts on the southern border and moved into barracks in border villages.

Meanwhile, the Israeli air force again bombed the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, predominantly Shiite neighborhoods where Hezbollah has a stronghold.

It follows Israeli airstrikes that struck within Beirut city limits early Monday for the first time since the Palestinian militant group Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7.

Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah have been in an escalation since the war in Gaza began following Hamas' attack on Israel last October. Hezbollah has said it will not stop its attacks on Israel until a ceasefire is reached in the Palestinian enclave, which has been largely reduced to rubble by Israeli bombs and fighting.

In recent weeks, Israel has shifted its military objectives north with a new war aim: returning displaced residents to their homes along the border with Lebanon. About 60,000 Israeli civilians were forced from their homes by Hezbollah rocket attacks.

It is the fiercest fighting between the two long-time enemies since the 2006 Lebanon war, which killed 1,100 people in the country. Nearly 50 Israeli civilians and 121 Israeli soldiers were also killed.

Last month, pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon in a coordinated Israeli attack that killed dozens of people and maimed thousands, including women and children.

Israel has also stepped up a relentless bombing campaign across Lebanon targeting Hezbollah's infrastructure and leadership, but the attacks have also decimated homes and neighborhoods in densely populated areas. Massive airstrikes in southern Beirut killed a number of Hezbollah leaders and more than 1,000 people.

The latest developments raise questions about how a weakened Hezbollah will respond and the extent to which its backer Iran might interfere, stoking renewed fears of a larger regional war.

Hezbollah is part of an Iran-led alliance that spans Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq and has been attacking Israel and its allies since the start of the war with Hamas.

In a fiery speech on Sunday, Netanyahu said one of Israel's goals was to “change the balance of power in the region” and that “there is no place in Iran or the Middle East that Israel's long arm will not reach.”

Killing Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and eliminating the group's ability to launch a major attack on Israel are “necessary” conditions to achieve that goal, he said.

Israel has also stepped up attacks against other Iran-backed militants on several fronts, including strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

But despite recent Israeli attacks on its proxies, Iran appears to have shied away from entering direct conflict with its long-time enemy, even as the decades-long shadow war has been pushed further into the public eye. Many observers fear that a direct Iranian retaliation could drag the United States even further into the conflict.

Attention is turning to the fact that the once-powerful United States is increasingly unable to rein in its ally or influence other major belligerents in a rapidly worsening regional crisis.

US officials told CNN they had been informed by their Israeli counterparts that the invasion of Lebanon was expected to be limited in scope and duration.

The White House said on Monday Israel has the right to defend itself but warned of the danger of “mission creep” in a ground operation that could ultimately expand its scope and become a longer-term attack.

President Joe Biden last week unveiled a 21-day ceasefire proposal backed by other U.S. allies that was almost immediately rejected by Netanyahu – to the dismay of the White House.

The U.S. is a major arms supplier to Israel — it likely supplied the 2,000-pound bombs that killed Hezbollah's leader — but Biden and his advisers continue to call for a diplomatic solution.