Israel Claims to Launch Limited Ground Operation Against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon

Troops from the Israeli 91st Division in southern Lebanon. (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - The Israeli army on Monday announced that its forces had begun a limited and targeted ground operation against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon.

Troops from the 91st Division launched the operation to "fortify" the front defense zone along Israel's northern border, the Israeli military said on social media X, launching Anadolu (16/3).

The Israeli military said the activity was part of a "broader defensive effort" aimed at building and strengthening the front-line defensive posture.

The operation includes dismantling the infrastructure of the Lebanese Hezbollah group and eliminating its members operating in the area, to eliminate threats and add a layer of security for northern Israeli residents, the army added.

"Before the troops entered the area, Israeli forces targeted many Hezbollah positions with artillery and air raids carried out by the Israeli Air Force to reduce the threat in the operational environment," he said.

The military also said it would continue to operate against Hezbollah, which it accused of joining the hostilities under what it described as Iranian government backing.

"In recent days, IDF forces from the 91st division have begun limited and targeted ground operations against Hezbollah's main strongholds in southern Lebanon, aimed at increasing the front defense area," the military said in a statement, quoted by Daily Sabah.

"This activity is part of a broader defense effort to build and strengthen a forward defense posture, which includes dismantling infrastructure and eliminating operations in the area, to eliminate threats and create an additional layer of security for the residents of northern Israel," the Israeli military said.

In a separate briefing to reporters, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani claimed that Hezbollah had recently expanded its activities in southern Lebanon.

"We have identified that Hezbollah intends to expand its operations and fire hundreds of rockets every day" towards Israel, he said.

"They have also sent hundreds of Radwan to the south (Lebanon)," he said, referring to elite units within Hezbollah.

Lieutenant Colonel Shoshani said the ground operation "is limited to targets against locations where we understand Hezbollah poses a threat to our civilians."

"Those are new locations that our forces did not operate yesterday," he said.

"We are also conducting ground operations targeted at specific locations where Hezbollah operates," Shoshani said, adding "we will operate as much as we need."