The Israeli military announced on Tuesday it had mobilized its first reserve division to southwestern Lebanon, marking an expansion of its ground offensive in the country.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s deputy leader signaled that the Lebanese group supports ceasefire efforts in Lebanon, despite confirming that the group remains organized and has overcome “painful blows.”
New Ground Offensive
Just like it did on September 30, Israel announced on Tuesday it had begun what it described as “limited, localized, targeted operations” in the southwest of Lebanon, aiming to add more pressure on Hezbollah.
The Israeli military hit the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight and announced it killed Hezbollah’s senior commander, Suhail Hussein Husseini, the one responsible for the group’s budgeting and logistics, reported Reuters.
This comes 10 days after the killing of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in one of the biggest blows to the Iranian-backed group.
Israel’s ground offensive is accompanied by a heavy aerial campaign, including new airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Dahiyeh.
Hezbollah Capabilities ‘Intact’
In response to Israeli strikes, Hezbollah on Tuesday said it had launched rockets against Haifa city in northern Israel. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had detected around 85 projectiles fired from Lebanon towards northern Israel, according to France 24.
In a televised address, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, noted that Israel’s heavy airstrikes have not impacted the group’s military capabilities. He said: “You see that our daily accomplishments are great. Hundreds of rockets and dozens of aircraft (drones), a great number of (Israeli) settlements and cities have come under rocket fire… I would like to reassure you that our capabilities are fine.”
Ceasefire Possible
In a new development, Qassem said that Hezbollah supports the efforts of Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon. “We support the political activity being led by Berri under the title of a ceasefire,” he said.
Qassem, for the first time, did not mention a Gaza truce deal as a pre-condition to halt fighting with Israel. He emphasized that Hezbollah would not be the first to surrender in the war.
“In any case, after the issue of a ceasefire takes shape, and once diplomacy can achieve it, all of the other details can be discussed and decisions can be taken. If the enemy (Israel) continues its war, then the battlefield will decide,” he added.
Ground Offensive Implications
As tensions escalate between Israel and Hezbollah, the situation in Lebanon is getting worse. The fighting has caused thousands of hectares of agricultural land to burn or get abandoned. The World Food Program country director in Lebanon, Matthew Hollingworth, warned that the country’s food supply is at risk.
“Agriculture-wise, food production-wise, (there is) extraordinary concern for Lebanon’s ability to continue to feed itself,” he said at a press briefing in Geneva.
Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of disease outbreaks among displaced populations in Lebanon, due to conditions in displacement shelters and hospital closures.
WHO’s Deputy Incident Manager for Lebanon, Ian Clarke, said: “We are facing a situation where there is a much higher risk of disease outbreaks, such as acute watery diarrhea, hepatitis A, and a number of vaccine preventable diseases.”
Cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people in Lebanon since October 7, 2023, with 1,000 of those killed in the last week. Moreover, the fighting has displaced around 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government’s estimates.
Iranian Warning
On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, warned Israel against any attacks on Iranian territories in retaliation of last week’s missile attack. “Any attack on Iran’s infrastructure will be met with a stronger retaliation,” he said.
On October 1, 2024, Iran launched a barrage of around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel, in the largest escalation of the conflict. The missiles hit military bases and other installations in Israel. As a result, Israel vowed revenge, with reports indicating that it could target oil production facilities inside Iran and other strategic sites, including its nuclear facilities.
Gaza War
Tensions in the Middle East come against the backdrop of Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli war on Gaza which has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 Palestinians and displaced 90% of Gaza’s population.
The conflict has spread across the region to involve Iranian-backed militias, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and other groups in Iraq and Syria. Ceasefire negotiations have not led to any tangible results, raising fears over an all-out war, especially after Iran’s involvement in the conflict.