JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces launched ground operations Monday against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces announced, opening a new front in a widening regional conflict.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation was intended "to remove threats and protect the residents of the north."
Israeli troops backed by Merkava tanks and armored personnel carriers pushed into border areas at dawn, targeting the towns of Khiam and Aitaroun and several surrounding villages. The advance was supported by airstrikes, artillery, and drone and warplane strikes, security sources told Xinhua.
The heaviest fighting was in the eastern sector, where Israeli forces pushed from Tal al-Hamamis toward Khiam, a flashpoint where clashes have persisted for days. In the central sector, troops advanced toward Aitaroun, Yaroun, and Bint Jbeil, seeking to seize high ground above Wadi al-Hujeir. In the west, forces moved on the villages of al-Dhahira and Alma al-Shaab before pulling back to the Labbouneh heights after coming under Hezbollah missile and artillery fire.
Hezbollah said its fighters repelled Israeli advances throughout the day, striking a Merkava tank north of the Khiam detention center with a guided missile and hitting an Israeli troop gathering near the Kfar Yuval settlement with rockets. Fierce resistance blocked Israeli forces from entering Khiam and advancing along the Taybeh axis, sources said.
So far, Israeli forces had established positions at roughly 15 border points, advancing one to three kilometers north of the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated boundary between Israel and Lebanon, according to security sources. Eyewitnesses described a night and early morning of heavy shelling, machine-gun fire, and airstrikes across dozens of localities.
The ground incursion marks an escalation of a conflict that began Feb. 28 with a U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran. Hezbollah, a key Iranian ally that controls much of southern Lebanon, resumed attacks on March 2, two days after the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli strike.
Monday's clashes were among the fiercest since a ceasefire ended a year-long war in late 2024, a halt that had stopped hostilities that displaced hundreds of thousands and left significant infrastructure damage on both sides. ■
