Israel launches limited ground action against Hezbollah in Lebanon

Photos of Syrians celebrating the assassination of Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah last week put the spotlight on the brutal activities of the terror group's role in sex slavery, mass starvation and kidnappings in the Syrian civil war which led to the deaths of over half a million Syrians.

Walid Phares, a leading expert on Hezbollah and Lebanon, told Fox News Digital that Hezbollah has "committed ethnic cleansing" in Syria. He said Hezbollah "was behind the uprooting of millions of Syrians, of all communities, mainly Sunni. They have perpetrated rape. They have perpetrated mass sexual abuse, including keeping sexual slaves."

Israel’s targeted assassination of Nasrallah last weekend has prompted greater interest in the inner workings of the Shiite terrorist organization that is widely considered the de facto ruler over Lebanon.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist entity is mainly known in America for bombing the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, which killed 63 people in 1983, and the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut also in 1983, resulting in the murders of 241 U.S. military personnel.

A new investigative video series by the Center for Peace Communications (CPC) shines a rare light on the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hezbollah’s role in sexual slavery, rape and mass murder. The shocking expose about Hezbollah’s enslavement of a Syrian woman aired days after Israel reportedly launched devastating explosions of pagers held by thousands of Hezbollah terrorists across Lebanon in September.

CPC President Joseph Braude told Fox News Digital "Hezbollah’s war on Israel obscures its larger war to subjugate much of the region — as a tyrant in Lebanon, an occupier in Syria, a mafia of sex and drug trafficking, and the nerve center of Iran’s Arab empire. Millions of Arabs whose lives have been shattered by the militia want a different future. Hezbollah does not want the world to hear their voices."

Read the full article by Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal.

The Israeli Defense Forces said Tuesday it identified projectiles crossing from Lebanon and toward central Israel.

After sirens sounded in the greater Tel Aviv area and the Sharon and Samaria areas, several projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory, the IDF said.

Some of the projectiles were intercepted.

Several hits on the ground were identified on a highway and open areas in central Israel.

Fox News' Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.

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The Israeli Defense Forces announced Tuesday it was carrying out "limited and targeted" raids along Israel's northern border against the terror group Hezbollah.

The ground raids will target Hezbollah strongholds that threaten Israeli communities along the Jewish State's northern border, according to IDF spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Hagari said Hezbollah turned villages in Lebanon into military bases in preparation for an attack on Israel.

The Israeli Defense Forces said Monday that it began a targeted ground operation in southern Lebanon amid ongoing conflict in the region.

The IDF said that in recent weeks, soldiers from the 98th Division, including soldiers from the Paratroopers, Commando and the 7th Brigades, have been preparing for limited, localized, targeted operations in southern Lebanon that began Monday night.

During this time period, the IDF says plans were approved and the soldiers trained in the northern arena.

"After many months of operating in the Gaza Strip, where the soldiers of the division gained skills and operational experience, they moved north and are now operating in the northern arena after making the necessary adjustments for fighting in Lebanon," the IDF said.

Fox News' Yael Kuriel contributed to this report.

The Pentagon announced on Monday that it is sending a "few thousand" U.S. personnel to the Middle East to support Air Force squadrons a day after President Biden vowed not to send combat troops to the region.

Speaking at a press gaggle with reporters on Monday, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the U.S. was sending a "few thousand" more troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to defend Israel, if needed.

Biden gave a firm "no" when asked Sunday if he planned to deploy additional combat troops to the Middle East.

This increased presence is to include multiple warplane squadrons, complimenting the F-15s, F-16s, A-10s and F-22s already stationed in the region.

Singh said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has "increased the readiness of additional U.S. forces to deploy, elevating our preparedness to respond to various contingencies. And DOD (Department of Defense) maintains robust and integrated air-defense capabilities across the Middle East, ensuring the protection of U.S. forces operating in the region."

The few thousand additional personnel are not combat troops but rather maintenance crews and those who can help with the air defense mission and refueling. The additional forces would raise the total number of U.S. personnel in the region to as many as 43,000.

The Pentagon’s announcement follows word that Israel has already launched limited raids across its northern border into Lebanon amid an anticipated wider ground invasion.

It also follows recent Israeli strikes into Lebanon and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a significant escalation in the war in the Middle East, this time between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization and proxy of Iran. Israel is also engaged in an ongoing war in the south against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian terrorist group sparked the conflict with its bloody incursion into southern Israel in October 2023.

Fox News' Bradford Betz, Jennifer Griffin and Liz Friden contributed to this report.

An Israeli tank moves next to soldiers as they stand atop of armored personnel carriers (APC), in northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Ministers in Israel’s Political-Security Cabinet in the early hours of Tuesday morning local time agreed on an operational strategy for Israel’s "limited" invasion into Lebanon, but tensions were high after officials were reportedly frustrated that the news of the operation had been leaked hours before they even met.

An unnamed U.S. security official confirmed to Fox News and other outlets Monday morning that a "limited" invasion into Lebanon was imminent. And when questioned by reporters on it later, President Biden appeared to confirm the claims and said, "I'm more aware than you might know."

But when asked if he was comfortable with the operational plans, he said, "I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now."

Read the full article about Israel by Caitlin McFall

People watch the televised speech of Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah to mark the anniversary of the killing of slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, in a Beirut's southern suburb on January 3, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

As the death of Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah is confirmed, the immediate question is not whether Iran will respond, but how.

Hezbollah is a creation of the Islamic Republic, built on decades of effort, and billions of dollars of support. Formed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1982, Hezbollah remains the regime’s primary proxy.

The relationship between Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, was almost familial – akin to that of father and son. But Nasrallah’s recent missteps, including intelligence failures and the assassinations of senior commanders, had left Khamenei to manage the fallout. His death now compounds that.

Read the full article about Iran and Israel by Kasra Aarabi and Dr. Saeid Golkar

Fox News Channel correspondent Kevin Corke appeared on "The Ingraham Angle" to discuss the latest developments with the IDF's ground operations in Lebanon.

Corke noted that the latest ground strikes in Lebanon are "parallel to, and separate from, the ongoing battle in Gaza."

"They have begun what they're calling a limited, localized and targeted ground raid offensive against very specific Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon," Corke explained. "Now, this will target not just individuals, but also terrorist infrastructure in the area."

"And what the Israelis are saying often in this particular statement is that this is specific...This is based on actionable intelligence. This is also methodical in its planning and the training that goes into it."

Israeli shelling hit an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Hezbollah’s second-in-command following the death of leader Hassan Nasrallah signaled Monday that the terrorist group is set to reveal its new leader soon, saying it will choose his successor "at the earliest opportunity."

Naim Qassem made the remark during the first televised speech from a Hezbollah official after Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut on Friday, according to Reuters. 

"We will choose a secretary-general for the party at the earliest opportunity... and we will fill the leadership and positions on a permanent basis," Qassem said while speaking in front of a trio of wooden panels from an undisclosed location. 

Read the full article about Hezbollah by Greg Norman

National security adviser Jake Sullivan gestures during a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Aug. 29, 2024. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)

One year ago, national security adviser Jake Sullivan praised the Biden administration’s success at keeping the peace in the Middle East, just one week before the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

"The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades" Sullivan said during a Sept. 29, 2023, appearance at the Atlantic Festival. 

At the time, Sullivan pointed to a list of positive developments in the Middle East, including a truce in Yemen, a decrease in Iranian attacks on U.S. troops, and a "stable" Iraq.

Read the full article about the White House by Michael Lee

An Israeli tank manoeuvres in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Several hours before the IDF's ground raids in Lebanon began, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video message to Iranian citizens on Monday.

The video, which was posted on X, was captioned, "The people of Iran should know - Israel stands with you."

"I want to address you – the people of Iran. I want to do so directly, without filters, without middlemen," the Israeli leader said. "Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you, make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza."

"Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war....There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country."

Legacy media outlets in the United States raised eyebrows over the weekend with glowing coverage of terror leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was praised as a "father figure" with a "propensity to crack jokes."

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the Hezbollah terror organization’s leader died in its strike Friday against the group’s headquarters in Lebanon. The IDF said Nasrallah was responsible for the murder of many Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as the planning and execution of thousands of terrorist activities around the world.

"He was responsible for hundreds of Americans deaths, yet the media here in America is making him look like he’s a good guy," Ainsley Earhardt said Monday on "FOX & Friends" as favorable mainstream headlines appeared on screen. 

Read the full article about Hassan Nasrallah by Brian Flood

A military base hosting U.S. servicemembers was reportedly targeted by rocket launchers in Baghdad, as the Israel-Hamas war continues to escalate.

The attack happened on Tuesday morning, as the IDF executed its limited ground operations into Lebanon. Iraqi military officials confirmed the attack to the Reuters, and it was allegedly executed with Katyusha rockets.

The rockets were intercepted and no casualties have been reported.

A senior U.S. defense official told Fox News that the attack took place at the the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Complex (BDSC), a Department of State facility. 

The official said that all military personnel are accounted for, and contradicted the Iraqi officials' reports to Reuters by claiming that U.S. military forces "were not targeted as had been reported."

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and Reuters contributed to this report.

Fox News Channel's international correspondent Mike Tobin appeared on "Your World" Monday evening to discuss Israel's then-imminent ground operations into Lebanon.

Speaking to host Neil Cavuto, Tobin said that he expected Israeli forces to "soften the battlefield," which they have done in the past.

"What I mean by softening the battlefield is they blast an area and anything that is not a combatant will generally get out of the way," he explained.

Tobin, who reported from the Israeli city of Haifa, added that he's seen images of "flashes" on the Lebanese side of the border.

"What we've been able to see are flashes on the Lebanese side of the border, an indication of the artillery or different types of strikes that are going in," the reporter described. "And also some of the defiant rockets coming out of the south of Lebanon as the Hezbollah fighters are still digging in."

US President Joe Biden speaks following a briefing on Hurricane Helene in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

President Biden on Monday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon Israel’s widely expected plans of a wider ground invasion of Lebanon as fighting with Hezbollah militants escalates.

A reporter asked Biden on Monday if he was aware of Israel’s possible plans to launch a limited operation in Lebanon and whether he was “comfortable with their plan.”

“I’m more aware than you might know, and I’m comfortable with them stopping,” Biden shot back. “We should have a cease-fire now.”

The exchange came as Israel launched small grounds raids against Hezbollah, while declaring three of its northern communities as a “closed military zone,” heightening fears that more forces could soon be sent to Lebanon to fight Iran-backed militants.

The last time Israeli troops fought with Hezbollah militants on Lebanese soil was a monthlong war in 2006.

Naim Qassem second-in-command of Hezbollah attends commemoration ceremony of Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah's top military commander who was assassinated by Israeli army in 30th of July, in Beirut, Lebanon on August 06, 2024. (Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Hezbollah’s deputy leader on Monday said the Iran-backed militant group was ready for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon by Israeli forces.

“We will face any possibility and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land and the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement,” Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a recorded message.

The comments from Qassem marks his first speech since Israeli forces assassinated Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.

“Despite the losses of its commanders, the attacks against civilians throughout Lebanon, and great sacrifices, we will not budge from our position,” Qassem said. “We will continue to support Gaza and to defend Lebanon.”

Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, October 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

The IDF announced that is has begun "limited, localized and targeted raids against Hezbollah terror targets," on Monday night.

"In accordance with the decision of the political echelon, a few hours ago, the IDF began limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon," the press release read.

"These targets are located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel."

The Israeli military added that it will do "everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes."

David Lammy, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs delivers his speech on day one of the Labour Party conference on September 22, 2024 in Liverpool, England.

David Lammy, the foreign minister for the United Kingdom, called for a ceasefire shortly before the IDF's ground operations in Lebanon began Monday evening.

"We've both seen the reports in the media about a next phase for Israel in Lebanon," Lammy said to Sky News. "We both agreed the position that we had at the U.N. last week that the best way forward is an immediate ceasefire and to get back to a political solution."

Lammy added that any British citizens in Lebanon should leave immediately.

"We have secured places on commercial flights that are flying tomorrow so that UK nationals can get out. I urge them to leave, because the situation on the ground is fast moving," the official said.

Reuters contributed to this update.