Israel Making Raids in Lebanon to Set Up Possible Invasion, Officials Say: Live Updates - The New York Times

Live Updates: Israel Making Raids in Lebanon to Set Up Possible Invasion, Officials Say

"Military officials said no decision had yet been made about whether or when to launch a major ground operation targeting Hezbollah. An Israeli airstrike killed a Hamas leader in Lebanon, extending a string of attacks against Iranian-backed militias.

Updated 

Sept. 30, 2024, 10:01 a.m. ET

1. 

   A residential area following an overnight blast in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday.

   David Guttenfelder for The New York Times

2. A damaged apartment block hit by the blast in Beirut.

   David Guttenfelder for The New York Times

3. A Beirut barbershop showing a speech by Sheikh Naim Qassem of Hezbollah.

   Bilal Hussein/Associated Press

4. The site of a strike in Ain el-Deib, near Sidon, Lebanon.

   Aziz Taher/Reuters

5. Rescuing a survivor of an Israeli strike in Sidon.

   The Associated Press

6. Demonstrators in Jerusalem called for a deal to release hostages held by Hamas.

   Ohad Zwigenberg/Associated Press

7. Israeli military vehicles near the border with Lebanon.

   Reuters

8. Some families sought refuge at the beach after fleeing Beirut's southern suburbs, on Sunday.

   Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times

9. A billboard in Tehran, Iran, featuring Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader killed on Friday. 

   Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

10. Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

    Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock

Pinned

Israeli commando units have made brief incursions into Lebanese territory in recent days to prepare for a possible wider invasion targeting Hezbollah, although no decision has yet been made about whether or when to begin one, officials said.

The raids — confirmed by six Israeli officers and officials, and one Western official — have focused on gathering intelligence about Hezbollah positions close to Israel’s northern border, as well as on identifying Hezbollah tunnels and military infrastructure in preparation to attack them from the air or the ground.

Sept. 30, 2024, 9:41 a.m. ET

Matthew Cassel

Videojournalist reporting from Lebanon

People streaming through Beirut’s bustling Cola Junction stared in disbelief at a damaged apartment building that was struck by Israel overnight. It was the first known Israeli strike in the center of the Lebanese capital in nearly two decades. Mohamed al-Hoss, a resident of the predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood, said that even during the 34-day war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, the area had been spared. “We’re in shock — we’ve never experienced anything like this,” he said.

Sept. 30, 2024, 9:38 a.m. ET

Johnatan Reiss

Reporting from Tel Aviv

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, released an English-language videoaddressing the Iranian public, saying, “The people of Iran should know — Israel stands with you.” He reiterated his threats against Iran, saying, “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.”

Israel Attacks on Multiple Fronts on Sunday

Israel said it had struck dozens of

targets in Lebanon on Sunday.

On Friday, an Israeli strike killed

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader.

Iran backs Hezbollah in Lebanon,

the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas

in Gaza.

Israel continues to

fight Hamas in Gaza.

Israel struck power plants

and a seaport that it said were used to 

transfer weapons from Iran.

The overnight strike in the Cola neighborhood in Beirut appeared to have been the first known Israeli strike in the city center since 2006. Israel has struck the densely populated Dahiya area to the south many times recently, with most of those strikes coming after a massive bombing attack on Friday that killed the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah there.

Israel struck the Dahiya on Jan. 2 for the first time since the war in Gaza began last October, targeting a Hamas official. It struck one other time before September, killing the senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr on July 30.

Along with Mr. Shukr, Israel killed two other members of Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council, in the area: Ibrahim Aqeel and Ali Karaki, who was killed alongside Nasrallah.

The strike on Mr. Aqeel killed at least 45 people, according to Lebanese authorities, including three children.

Strike in Beirut’s Cola neighborhood

The strike appeared to be Israel’s first in central Beirut since 2006."

Israel Making Raids in Lebanon to Set Up Possible Invasion, Officials Say: Live Updates - The New York Times