Israel's Operation Northern Arrows: IDF begins ground offensive in Lebanon, at least 21 killed in Gaza

Israeli military began what it claimed "limited, localized, and targeted" ground raids in Lebanon killing at least 21 people in Gaza in fresh attacks on Oct 1, two days after it killed the Iran-backed group Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Sep 29 besides hundreds of people including women and children in multiple strikes mostly in southern Lebanon in recent days.

The incursion marks a significant escalation of an offensive against Hezbollah militants and opening a new front in a year-old war against its Iranian-backed adversaries. Israel's fresh strike in Gaza killed at least 21 people on Oct 1 as Israel claimed it targeted Hamas centers, but majority of the people killed were women and children, according to Reuters.

An Israeli military spokesperson reported intense fighting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

"Heavy fighting is taking place in southern Lebanon, with Hezbollah elements using the civilian environment and the population as human shields to launch attacks," spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X asking residents not to move vehicles from the northern region to the southern region of the Litani River.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) announced the raids in a post on X, a few hours after they began on Oct 1, saying, “The incursions were backed by air strikes and artillery."

The IDF clarified, “The operations were approved and carried out by the decision of the political echelon,” asserting that operation "Northern Arrows" will continue in parallel to the fighting in Gaza and other arenas.

The Israeli Air Force and Artillery will also conduct “precise strikes on military targets,” according to the IDF post. There was no word on how long the operation would last, but a senior army official said that soldiers had been training and preparing for the mission in recent months.

Israel has said it will continue to strike the Iran-backed armed group until it is safe for displaced Israelis from border communities to return to their homes.

The country declared on Oct 1 three small border communities a “closed military zone,” restricting access only to army personnel.
There were no reports of direct clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants. Still, throughout Sep 30 evening, Israeli artillery units pounded targets in southern Lebanon, and the sounds of airstrikes were heard throughout Beirut, according to media reports.

Smoke rose from the capital’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, shortly after Israel ordered residents of three buildings to evacuate, reports added.

The ground action will be smaller than Israel’s last fight against Hezbollah in 2006, a US official was quoted as saying, and will reportedly focus on clearing out militant infrastructure on Lebanon’s southern border to protect communities in northern Israel.

At least 100 Israeli military vehicles were spotted around five miles from the Lebanon border early on Oct 1, according to media reports. Notably, the forces eliminated Muhammad Hussein Srour, the head of Hezbollah's Aerial Command, during an airstrike in Beirut on Sep 26, and Ibrahim Muhammad Qabisi, a top commander with the missile and rocket unit on Sep 24.

Hezbollah in a statement on Oct 1 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.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Najib Mitaki and UN's Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza launched on Oct 1 a $426 million appeal to help civilians affected by the escalating conflict, the U.N. said in a statement.

Adnan Abu Alhaija, the Palestinian Ambassador to India on Oct 1 in a statement said the current right-wing government in Israel has repeatedly rejected any efforts to bring a ceasefire.

"All the people, even the United States, have defended Israel. The international arena calls Israel for a ceasefire, but Israelis and this extreme government (Netanyahu) are refusing the ceasefire," he said while expressing skepticism of peace in near future.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has been escalating day by day as Israel has continued attacks on Lebanon while ignoring the world leaders’ calls for de-escalation and a 21-day US-backed truce.

Residents in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab on Oct 1 reported heavy shelling and the sound of helicopters and drones overhead. Flares were repeatedly launched over the Lebanese border town of Rmeish, lighting up the night sky, according to them.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video message on Sep 30 issued an indirect warning to Tehran saying “no place” in the Middle East is beyond Israel's reach. Netanyahu also appealed to the Iranian people saying Israel wants to live in peace with Iran as he accused the Ayatollah's of ‘funding’ wards across the region to ‘destroy’ Israel.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Sep 30 told local council heads in northern Israel that the next phase of the war along Lebanon's southern border would begin soon, and would intend to bring home Israelis who have fled Hezbollah rockets during almost a year of border warfare.

The United Nations on Oct 1 in a statement warned against “large scale ground invasion” of Lebanon by Israeli forces soon. The Kremlin also on Oct 1 in a statement said it was deeply concerned about Israel's military activity in Lebanon and a strike on the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Iran foreign ministry on Sep 30 said Israel's "crimes" will not go unpunished and it will respond at a time and place of its own choice. Tehran said it does not want a full-scale war but is not afraid of it.

Hezbollah's deputy chief Naim Kassem on Sep 30 vowed to continue fighting Israel and said the group is prepared to face a long war despite losing a string of top commanders to Israel's strikes. Kassem in a statement said their fighters would defend Lebanon in case of a ground invasion by Israel.

Notably, Israel conducted at least six strikes on south Beirut in recent days after ordering the residents to evacuate, according to a Lebanese official. Hezbollah is a well-trained militant group believed to have tens of thousands of fighters and a massive arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles.

The last round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 ended in a stalemate.

On Sep 29, Israel attacked Yemen with a series of air raids against Houthi targets. Numerous aircraft, including fighter jets, attacked power plants and sea port facilities at Ras Isa and Hodeidah ports. The Houthis claimed to have fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion International Airport, which is close to Tel Aviv, the day before the strike.