Yesterday, Israel warned Iran that nowhere in the Middle East is beyond its reach and hinted at a ground invasion of Lebanon, while the United States, according to an American official, noted the deployment of Israeli troops suggesting that a ground invasion in Lebanon could be imminent.
"There is no place we will not go to protect our people and our country," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a three-minute address in English to the Iranian people after the leader of the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah was killed in attacks last Sunday.
Friday's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the most powerful leader in Iran's "axis of resistance" against Israel and American interests in the Middle East, is one of the most severe blows to both Hezbollah and Iran in recent decades.
After two weeks of heavy attacks and a series of assassinations of Hezbollah commanders, Israel, which is preparing its troops for a ground invasion, has indicated that this is an option for Lebanon.
The Israeli military declared the areas around the communities of Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, as a closed military zone and said entry into the areas was prohibited. It said the decision was made after assessing the situation.
Addressing soldiers along Israel's northern border, Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Israel will do whatever is necessary to ensure the return of citizens who fled Hezbollah rockets during nearly a year of cross-border clashes.
"We will use all the means that may be needed - your forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea, from the land. Good luck", said Galant.
"The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not final. In order to ensure the return of the communities in the north of Israel, we will use all our capacities and that includes you".
The US has noted Israeli troop deployments that suggest a ground invasion of Lebanon may be imminent, a US official told Reuters yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide further details on the deployment of Israeli forces.
The Washington Post, citing an unidentified US official, reported that Israel had already informed the US that it was preparing a ground operation that could begin at any moment.
The operation would be smaller in scale than Israel's war against Hezbollah in 2006 and would focus on the security of communities living in border areas, the official said.
When asked about the "Washington Post" report, US President Joe Biden, who has so far been unsuccessful in calling on Israel to curb its campaign, called for a truce, telling reporters: "I would like them to stop."
In his first public address since the Israeli strikes that killed Nasrallah last Sunday, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qasim said his fighters were ready to face a ground invasion.
"The resistance forces are ready for a ground conflict," he said in an address from an unknown location.
As he spoke, Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon continued, extending a two-week campaign that has eliminated several Hezbollah commanders but also killed 1.000 civilians and forced a million people from their homes, according to the Lebanese government. .
Kasim said that he will "elect the general secretary of the party as soon as possible ... and permanently fill the leadership and positions". He said Hezbollah continued to fire rockets as far as 150 km into Israeli territory.
"What we are doing is the bare minimum ... We know the battle could be long," he said. "We will win as we won in 2006", he added.
A few hours before Qasim's address, the Palestinian militant group Hamas announced that an Israeli airstrike had killed their leader Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin along with his wife, son and daughter in the Lebanese city of Tyre.
Another faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said three of its leaders were killed in the attack in Beirut's Kola district, the first attack so close to the city center.
Israeli attacks on militant targets in Lebanon are part of a conflict that stretches from the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank to Iran-backed groups in Yemen and Iraq. This escalation has fueled fears that the US and Iran will be drawn into the conflict.
The latest moves indicate that Israel has no plans to slow down its advanced military machinery, even after the elimination of Nasrallah. Netanyahu accused the Iranian government of "dragging the Middle East deeper into war" at the expense of its own people, which it is dragging into the abyss.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Tehran would not allow any of Israel's "criminal acts" to go unanswered. Israel's closest ally, the US, has not wavered in its support despite concerns over the high number of civilian casualties.
Although Arab states have condemned Israel's actions, none have taken concrete steps to pressure Israel to curb its planes, angering Beirut residents like Abou Imad.
"You are watching (Israel) take over all the Arab countries and all of us," he told Reuters. "This indifference is shameful, for the Lebanese and the Palestinian people".
European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said yesterday that it is essential to avoid any further military intervention in Lebanon. "Any further military intervention would dramatically worsen the situation and must be avoided," Borel told reporters after an emergency video conference of EU foreign ministers.
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