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WASHINGTON -- Iran is preparing to "imminently" motorboat a ballistic rocket onslaught connected Israel, according to a elder U.S. medication official, who warned Tuesday of "severe consequences" should it instrumentality place.
The official, who spoke connected the information of anonymity to sermon the matter, said the U.S. is actively supporting Israeli antiaircraft preparations. This comes aft the Israeli subject connected Tuesday warned radical to evacuate astir 2 twelve Lebanese borderline communities hours aft announcing what it said were constricted crushed operations against Hezbollah.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier communicative follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli subject connected Tuesday warned radical to evacuate astir 2 twelve Lebanese borderline communities hours aft announcing what it said were constricted crushed operations against Hezbollah.
The militant radical denied Israeli troops had entered Lebanon, but hours aboriginal the Israeli service announced it had besides carried retired dozens of crushed raids into confederate Lebanon going backmost astir a year. Israel released video footage purporting to amusement its soldiers operating successful homes and tunnels wherever Hezbollah kept weapons.
There was nary contiguous confirmation, but if existent it would beryllium different humiliating stroke for Iran-backed Hezbollah, the astir almighty equipped radical successful the Middle East. Hezbollah has been reeling from weeks of targeted strikes that killed its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and respective of his apical commanders.
Israel advised radical to evacuate to the northbound of the Awali River, immoderate 60 kilometers (36 miles) from the borderline and overmuch farther than the Litani River, which marks the bluish borderline of a U.N.-declared portion that was intended to service arsenic a buffer betwixt Israel and Hezbollah aft their 2006 war.
"You indispensable instantly caput northbound of the Awali River to prevention yourselves, and permission your houses immediately," said the connection posted by the Israeli subject connected the level X. The informing applied to communities southbound of the Litani.
The borderline portion has mostly emptied retired implicit the past twelvemonth arsenic the 2 sides person traded fire. But the scope of the evacuation informing raised questions arsenic to however heavy Israel plans to nonstop its forces into Lebanon arsenic it presses up with a rapidly escalating run against Hezbollah.
Anticipating much rocket attacks from Hezbollah, the Israeli service announced caller restrictions connected nationalist gatherings and closed beaches successful bluish and cardinal Israel.
Questions raised implicit whether Israeli forces entered
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n Associated Press newsman saw Israeli troops operating adjacent the borderline successful armored trucks, with helicopters circling overhead, but could not corroborate crushed forces had crossed into Lebanon.
Ahead of the Israeli announcement of an incursion, U.S. officials connected Monday said Israel had described launching tiny crushed raids wrong Lebanon arsenic it prepared for a wider operation.
Neither the Lebanese service nor a U.N. peacekeeping unit known arsenic UNIFIL, which patrol confederate Lebanon, person confirmed that Israeli forces entered. UNIFIL said immoderate specified cross-border cognition would beryllium a "dangerous development" and a usurpation of Lebanese sovereignty.
In its archetypal connection since Israel announced the commencement of crushed operations, Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammed Afif dismissed what helium said were "false claims" of an Israeli incursion. He said Hezbollah is acceptable for "direct confrontation with force forces that situation to oregon effort to participate Lebanon."
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military's apical spokesperson, claimed troops were conducting "localized crushed raids" connected Hezbollah positions successful confederate Lebanon to guarantee that Israeli citizens could instrumentality to their homes successful the north.
"We're not going to Beirut," helium said. "We're lone going to areas adjacent to our borderline and volition bash what is indispensable to dismantle and demolish Hezbollah infrastructure."
He said Israel had carried retired dozens of tiny raids wrong Lebanon going each the mode backmost to Oct. 8, erstwhile Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel aft the outbreak of the warfare successful Gaza.
He said Israeli forces had crossed the borderline to cod accusation and destruct Hezbollah infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons. Israel has said Hezbollah was preparing its ain Oct. 7-style onslaught into Israel. It was not instantly imaginable to corroborate those claims.
An Israeli subject authoritative said troops taking portion successful the latest incursion were wrong walking region of the border, focused connected villages hundreds of meters (yards) from Israel. The official, who spoke connected information of anonymity successful enactment with subject regulations, said determination had been nary clashes yet with Hezbollah fighters.
The Israeli subject was accused of lying to media successful 2021 erstwhile it released a connection implying that crushed troops had entered Gaza. The subject played down the incidental arsenic a misunderstanding, but well-sourced subject commentators successful Israel said it was portion of a ruse to lure Hamas into battle.
Israel strikes much targets and Hezbollah fires rockets
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sraeli artillery units pounded targets successful confederate Lebanon done the nighttime and the sounds of airstrikes were heard passim Beirut.
The Israeli subject authoritative said Hezbollah had launched rockets astatine cardinal Israel, mounting disconnected aerial raid sirens and wounding a antheral successful his 50s. Hezbollah said it fired salvos of a caller benignant of medium-range missile, called the Fadi 4, astatine the office of 2 Israeli quality agencies adjacent Tel Aviv.
Afif, the Hezbollah spokesman, said the rocket onslaught "is lone the beginning."
The Israeli subject authoritative said Hezbollah had besides launched projectiles astatine Israeli communities adjacent the border, targeting soldiers without wounding anyone.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into bluish Israel soon aft Hamas' Oct. 7 onslaught into Israel ignited the warfare successful Gaza. Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes and the struggle has steadily escalated. In caller weeks Israel has unleashed a punishing question of airstrikes crossed ample parts of Lebanon.
Hagari said the U.N. Security Council solution that ended the past Israel-Hezbollah warfare successful 2006 had not been enforced and that confederate Lebanon was "swarming with Hezbollah terrorists and weapons."
That solution had called for Hezbollah to retreat from the country betwixt the borderline and the Litani River and for the Lebanese service and U.N. peacekeepers to patrol the region. Israel says those and different provisions were ne'er enforced. Lebanon has agelong accused Israel of violating different presumption of the resolution.
Israeli authoritative says nary plans to march connected Beirut
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ebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Monday that his state is consenting to deploy the service successful enactment of the solution if determination is simply a cease-fire. Lebanon's equipped forces would not beryllium capable to enforce an statement connected the acold much almighty Hezbollah.
The subject statements indicated that Israel mightiness absorption its crushed cognition connected the constrictive portion on the border, alternatively than launching a larger penetration aimed astatine destroying Hezbollah, arsenic it has done successful Gaza against the Palestinian Hamas.
Hezbollah and Hamas are adjacent allies backed by Iran, and each escalation implicit the past twelvemonth has raised fears of a wider warfare successful the Middle East that could gully successful Iran and the United States, which has rushed subject assets to the portion successful enactment of Israel.
The incursion follows weeks of dense blows by Israel against Hezbollah - including an airstrike that killed its longtime person Nasrallah - and seeks to measurement up the unit connected the group.
There was nary connection connected however agelong the cognition would last.
Over 1,000 radical person been killed successful Lebanon successful Israeli strikes implicit the past 2 weeks, astir a 4th of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands of radical person fled their homes.
Hezbollah is simply a well-trained militia, believed to person tens of thousands of fighters and an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles. The past circular of warring successful 2006 ended successful a stalemate, and some sides person spent the past 2 decades preparing for their adjacent showdown.
Recent airstrikes wiping retired astir of Hezbollah's apical enactment and the explosions of hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah bespeak that Israel has infiltrated heavy wrong the group's precocious echelons.
Hezbollah vowed Monday to support warring adjacent aft its caller losses. The group's acting leader, Naim Kassem, said successful a televised connection Monday that Hezbollah commanders killed successful caller weeks person already been replaced.
European countries person begun pulling their diplomats and citizens retired of Lebanon. A British government-chartered formation is owed to permission Beirut connected Wednesday to evacuate U.K. nationals. The U.K. has besides sent 700 troops to a basal successful the adjacent land federation of Cyprus to hole for a imaginable evacuation of the estimated 5,000 British citizens successful Lebanon.
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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb successful Beirut contributed.
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