South Lebanon - Recent

Storyline:
The Israeli military announced Tuesday that it has approved "operational plans" for an offensive against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

In a statement, the military said Ori Gordin, commander of the Northern Command, and Oded Basiuk, head of the Operations Directorate, "approved the plans and held a joint situation assessment in the Northern Command" as part of preparations for the continuation of combat against Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.

The military added that "decisions were made on the continuation of increasing readiness of troops in the field".

The announcement came amid increasing tensions between the two sides, also at a time when U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, during his visit to Beirut, called for urgent de-escalation of confrontations on the Israel-Lebanon border.

During the visit, the U.S. envoy met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who said that "Lebanon does not seek escalation, and what is required is to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon and return to calm and stability on the southern border".

In a statement on Tuesday, Hezbollah announced that it had launched attacks on Israeli military targets in the occupied Shebaa Farms and other locations. These attacks resulted in casualties among Israeli military personnel and set their positions on fire. Hezbollah also released a video showing their drones conducting aerial reconnaissance in northern Israel.

According to the Lebanese National News Agency, the Israeli forces launched multiple rounds of attacks on several towns in the border area of southern Lebanon on Tuesday, resulting in multiple injuries.
On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces reported that several suspected drone aerial targets triggered air defense alarms in northern Israel. The Israeli military shot down these aerial targets and conducted multiple strikes on Hezbollah's drone launch points and other targets.

Tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border began to escalate on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

Shotlist:
South Lebanon - Recent:
1. Various of destroyed buildings, debris, vehicles, ambulance;
FILE: Nabatieh, Lebanon - Feb 21, 2024
2. Various of damaged buildings;
FILE: Kiryat Shmona, Israel - April 24, 2024
3. Cityscape;
4. Various of residential building, bullet holes on wall.

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