UN alarm as Israel launches Lebanon ground offensive

The Israeli army said its troops were locked in fierce clashes in Lebanon after launching a ground offensive on Tuesday, escalating the conflict after a week of air strikes that killed hundreds.

The ground assault came as Israel targeted south Beirut, Damascus and Gaza, despite international calls for restraint to avoid a regional conflagration.

The Israeli military said its forces, backed by air strikes and artillery, carried out "targeted ground raids" on Hezbollah positions in settlements along the border. It said the targets posed an "immediate threat" to northern Israeli communities, and warned Lebanese civilians against driving in a southern zone along the border.

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged residents of more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately on Tuesday. The Israeli military had issued a warning to citizens not to move in their vehicles from the area north of the Litani river in Lebanon to its south.

"Intense fighting is taking place in southern Lebanon," Adraee said on Telegram. "For your personal safety, we ask you not to travel by vehicles from the north to the south of the Litani River."

The military had earlier declared a military zone on parts of its border with Lebanon. It said projectiles were fired from Lebanon into the northern Israeli towns of Avivim and Metula. Hezbollah said it had twice targeted "a movement of enemy soldiers in Metula with artillery shells".

Lebanon's official National News Agency said an Israeli air strike on Tuesday on Ain al-Helweh camp killed six people, including Hassan Maqdah, the son of Mounir Maqdah who heads the Lebanese branch of Palestinian group Fatah's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

The strike hit a building in the crowded Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the sources said. It marked the first strike on Lebanon's largest Palestinian camp since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago. Israel has not commented on the strike.

Lebanon's official news agency also reported Israeli shelling of border settlements, killing 10 people from the same family, including at least two children, in Daoudieh village.

Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv

Hezbollah said it had used new Fadi 4 missiles to attack the Tel Aviv headquarters of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and the Glilot military base, where the army's 8200 intelligence unit is headquartered on the outskirts of the Israeli city.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday the country is facing one of the most dangerous stages in its history. He was speaking during a meeting with UN organizations and ambassadors of donor countries, in which they made a joint appeal for more than $400 million in aid to cope with surging hostilities.

Two Lebanese security sources said that Israeli units had crossed into Lebanon overnight for reconnaissance and probing operations. Lebanese troops also pulled back from positions along the border, the source added.

UN warns against 'large-scale ground invasion' 

The United Nations voiced alarm on Tuesday at Israel's ground offensive, warning against a "large-scale ground invasion".

"With armed violence between Israel and Hezbollah boiling over, the consequences for civilians have already been terrible - and we fear a large-scale ground invasion by Israel into Lebanon would only result in greater suffering," Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.

Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon on Tuesday warned that crossing into the country would breach its sovereignty, after Israel announced it would carry out limited ground incursions.

"Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity," said UNIFIL. "Civilians must be protected, civilian infrastructure must not be targeted and international law must be respected."

World reaction

World leaders have urged de-escalation, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying: "We do not want any sort of ground invasion."

Türkiye's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Israel's ground offensive was an illegal attempt at occupation that violated Lebanese territorial integrity, and added the operation must immediately end with Israel withdrawing from Lebanon.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Israel's offensive targeted regional countries' security and stability as well, and added it was "highly likely" that a new migrant wave will emerge from the fighting. It called on the UN Security Council to "do what is necessary" in line with international law.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it was deeply concerned about Israel's military activity in Lebanon and a strike on the Syrian capital, Damascus. 

Three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the capital Damascus, Syrian state media said on Tuesday citing a military source. Israel's military said it does not comment on foreign media reports.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up raids since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel's southern territory on October 7, 2023.

Hamas killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage in its assault on Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Israel in response launched a massive assault on Hamas in Gaza, killing more than 41,300 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Lufthansa Group extends flight suspensions

Lufthansa Group said on Tuesday that its airlines, including Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, had extended the suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut and Tehran.

Flights to and from Tel Aviv will be suspended through October 31, while flights to and from Beirut and Tehran will be suspended through November 30 and October 14, respectively, the group said in a statement.

Israel orders Beirut evacuations

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed 95 people on Monday, the health ministry said. On Monday evening, the Israeli military ordered people in three districts of southern Beirut to evacuate.

"You are located near interests and facilities belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah group... you must evacuate the buildings immediately," Adraee said.

Gaza strikes

In Gaza, the civil defense authority said on Tuesday that Israeli bombardment on homes killed 12 people in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

Seven others were killed in Israeli strikes on a school sheltering displaced people east of Gaza City.

A UN Satellite Centre assessment issued Monday said "two-thirds of the total structures in the Gaza Strip have sustained damage" in nearly a year of war.

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,615 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.

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