News Alert: Israel Invades Lebanon

Israeli troops have crossed into southern Lebanon as ground operations begin in its war against Hezbollah

A few minutes after 6 p.m. tonight, I started to receive news alerts about Israel launching a ground operation in southern Lebanon. Major news organizations are now reporting that this is indeed the case. Israel issued a statement around 2 a.m. their time, according to reporting from the New York Times. Here’s the statement:

The Israeli military announced early Tuesday that its troops had begun crossing into southern Lebanon, saying that they would destroy Hezbollah military infrastructure in villages close to the Israel-Lebanon border.

In a statement issued shortly before 2 a.m., the military described the operation as a “limited” operation and said that its troops had begun entering Lebanon “a few hours ago” in order to target sites that “pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.”

Rocket sirens are also sounding in northern Israeli border communities, and at least 10 projectiles have crossed into Israel from Lebanon. Syrian air defenses also intercepted projectiles over Damascus.