Israeli military announces ground invasion of southern Lebanon

Jerusalem: The Israeli military began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, targeting what it said early Tuesday was Hezbollah military infrastructure in villages close to the Israel-Lebanon border, the first such incursion by Israel into its northern neighbor's territory in nearly two decades.

Israeli leaders approved the plans late Monday night to send in troops, according to three Israeli officials. And in a statement issued shortly before 2 am Tuesday, the military said Israeli troops had begun crossing the border in order to target sites that "pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel."

The officials said the plans involved operating in a narrow strip of land that lines the northern side of the border. The invasion force would consist of small groups of commandos accompanied by air cover, as well as artillery shells fired from Israel, the officials said.

The invasion followed intense Israeli strikes across Lebanon over the past two weeks that have killed hundreds of people. Israel is attempting to force a conclusion to a yearlong war that began last October, when Hezbollah started firing toward Israeli positions in solidarity with its ally Hamas.

Though the Israeli military announced its troops had "begun limited, localized and targeted raids against Hezbollah" targets, the plan could still evolve into a larger invasion. Thousands of additional troops have been deployed in northern Israel in recent days, leading to speculation about a broader and more prolonged operation.

US officials said earlier Monday that they believed the invasion would be a limited one. Israeli officials had assured their US counterparts that they did not intend to follow up the incursion with a bigger operation by conventional forces or by occupying parts of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah said Monday that its forces would confront Israeli troops if they carried out a full invasion. "We will confront any possibility, and we are ready if the Israelis decide to enter by land," Sheikh Naim Kassem, deputy to Hezbollah's slain leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a televised statement. "The forces of the resistance are ready for a ground engagement."