US backs Israel after ground invasion in Lebanon to dismantle ‘attack infrastructure’

The Pentagon has backed Israel’s military action in south Lebanon, with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin offering support to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for “dismantling attack infrastructure” along the border. Austin’s comments came after Israel launched “targeted ground raids” on Hezbollah in south Lebanon.

Austin doubled it up with a warning to Iran of “serious consequences” if it directly attacked Israel in response to their attacks on the Tehran-backed militant group.

“We agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel’s northern communities,” he said in a statement posted to social network X after speaking with Gallant.

Israel continues its military strikes

Gallant earlier said that Israel’s military action in Lebanon was not over despite an Israeli strike killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, dealing a devastating blow to the militant group.

Austin reiterated the position shared by the White House that a “diplomatic resolution is required” to ensure civilian safety “on both sides of the border.”

“I reiterated the serious consequences for Iran in the event Iran chooses to launch a direct military attack against Israel,” Austin said.

“The United States is well-postured to defend US personnel, partners, and allies in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organisations and determined to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict.”

Israel launches ground invasion

On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said that its troops have started “ground raids” in villages in southern Lebanon. The announcement came after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it had targeted “enemy soldiers” at the Lebanon-Israel border.

A Lebanese security official said Israel had also conducted at least six strikes on south Beirut, while Syrian state media reported deadly strikes around the capital Damascus.

Escalation amid calls for de-escalation

Ignoring international calls for de-escalation, Israel has continued its military strikes in Lebanon and Gaza. It has vowed to keep fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah and declared a military zone in parts of its border with Lebanon.

Israel’s military said its “ground raids” were “targeted…in villages close to the border". Israel described the targets as “an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel”.

This came after Hezbollah said it is “ready if Israel decides to enter by land”.

Meanwhile, deadly strikes on Damascus

As Israel announced its ground raids, Syria’s official news agency SANA said that three civilians killed and nine others wounded in Israeli strikes in the Damascus area. It said that Syria’s air defence systems intercepted three rounds of strikes.

State television said anchor Safaa Ahmad was killed “in the Israeli aggression” on Damascus.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria in recent years.

Attack on Palestinian groups

As the Israeli air force pounded south Beirut, a Palestinian camp official in south Lebanon said an Israeli strike hit Ain al-Helweh camp in the city of Sidon, targeting a Palestinian militant.

The strike hit “the house of the son of Mounir Maqdah,” the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Israel has accused Maqdah of heading the Lebanese branch of Fatah’s armed wing.

Lebanon’s national army, dwarfed by Hezbollah’s military power, was “repositioning” troops farther from the border, news agency AFP quoted a military official as saying.

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.”

Israel orders Beirut evacuations

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,” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said.

Israel has carried out a wave of deadly airstrikes across Lebanon, the latest of which killed 95 people on Monday, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. The attacks have been targeted against Hezbollah, Israel has said.

Hezbollah got involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict after Israeli forces launched their military campaign in Gaza following the October 7 raids by the Palestinian group, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping over 250.

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

The Lebanon border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have rapidly escalated this month.

‘Everyone is afraid’

Israel’s strikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds of people over the past week and forced up to a million to flee their homes, according to Lebanese officials.

Hezbollah and other groups launched rockets, drones and missiles at Israel over the same period, causing some injuries but no deaths.

Iran has said Nasrallah’s killing would bring about Israel’s “destruction”, though the foreign ministry said Monday that Tehran would not deploy any fighters to confront Israel.

Austin warned on Monday of “serious consequences for Iran” if Tehran directly attacks Israel.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for a ceasefire based on a recent US-French proposal, urging “an end to the Israeli aggression against Lebanon”.

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli strike hit a building in central Beirut, with an armed Palestinian group saying it had killed three of its members.

Central Beirut resident Kahier Bannout, 42, said it was “supposed to be a safe area – not a war zone”.

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than 1,000 people have been killed since September 17.

UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said: “Well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon”, while more than 100,000 have fled to neighbouring Syria.

‘Little time’

The US, Qatar and Egypt tried for months to broker such a deal, which Netanyahu’s critics accused him of obstructing.

In Gaza, the civil defence authority said 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.

(With inputs from agencies)