Tanks and jets on the move at Israel-Lebanon border
Dozens of Israeli tanks gathered at an undisclosed location in northern Israel
- Published
Here on the Israeli side of the border, tanks and aircraft have been on the move, as the ground war that Israel and Hezbollah had avoided for almost two decades began.
Fields a few miles from the border that yesterday were full of dozens of tanks, are emptying - almost the entire fighting force there has gone, and a column of armoured vehicles were preparing to move out.
On Sunday night, helicopters and jets flew low across this border, to the regular 鈥渃rump鈥 of artillery and occasional loud explosions.
Hezbollah says it fired rockets at Israeli troops this morning along the border at Metula and Avivim, and there were also several loud interceptions directly above us, a little further south.
At an army checkpoint outside Metula, Israeli artillery was still firing this morning as a group of soldiers waited to go in.
Israel鈥檚 army says its ground forces crossed the border last night in a 鈥渓imited and targeted鈥 incursion, but it鈥檚 not immediately clear how many units have been sent in, and where.
A senior security official said today that the operations were 鈥渧ery limited in scope鈥 and said there were currently 鈥渘o clashes鈥.
When asked how far into Lebanon the Israeli forces had gone, he declined to be specific but said they were 鈥渧ery close, walking distance - not far in鈥, and that the numbers involved were not those of a large ground invasion, but something more limited.
Israel says its aim is to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure along the border that it says poses an imminent threat to Israeli communities.
But sending ground troops even a short distance into Lebanon carries significant risks to its army.
Hezbollah - well armed with anti-tank missiles and mines - has been preparing to meet Israeli forces on this terrain for years.
What鈥檚 not clear is how far Israel is preparing to push forward into Lebanese territory, whether its aim is to remove the threat of infiltration from Hezbollah fighters and tunnels, or whether it is planning to push the group further north - a much bigger and riskier undertaking for Israeli army.