Israeli army shells towns in southern Lebanon amid ground operation

The Israeli army shelled several towns in southern Lebanon early Tuesday, coinciding with Tel Aviv's announcement of a "limited" ground operation in the north.

The army said it launched "limited, localized and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon."

Lebanon's official news agency NNA reported that the artillery bombardment lasted over two hours, targeting the towns of Wazzani, Marjeyoun and Khiyam.

Additionally, Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike on the Kawkaba-Marjeyoun highway in southern Lebanon, cutting off the road.

Intense Israeli artillery fire targeted the vicinity of the towns of Khiam, Kfarkela and Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

In the same context, the agency reported that the Israeli army dropped illuminating flares on the outskirts of the border town of Ayta ash Shab in Bint Jbeil district.

The Israeli army launched eight airstrikes on the Laylaki, Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh neighborhoods in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday evening, just minutes after issuing urgent evacuation orders for the three areas in the Lebanese capital.

Following airstrikes, Israeli warplanes conducted low-altitude flights over Beirut, as reported by the state news agency.

Earlier, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted an "urgent warning to the residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut" on his account on the X platform, sharing maps of buildings where he urged residents and those in nearby structures to evacuate.

The evacuation orders targeted the neighborhoods of Laylaki, Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh.

Adraee claimed the buildings were "near Hezbollah-affiliated facilities and sites," adding "the Israeli army will act against them with force."

Hezbollah said in a statement that it "targeted movements of Israeli enemy soldiers in the orchards opposite the towns of Odaisseh and Kfarkela in Marjeyoun district with appropriate weapons, achieving confirmed hits."

In a subsequent statement, the group announced that it targeted "an Israeli force at the gate of the Shtula settlement in the Upper Galilee, northern Israel, with artillery shells, achieving a direct hit."

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli army said that after sirens sounded in Shtula, three rockets were detected and landed in an open area.

The army said that around 10 shells were fired from Lebanon toward the Meron area in northern Israel, with some being intercepted and the rest landing in an open area.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 960 people and injuring over 2,770 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several Hezbollah leaders have been killed in the assault, including Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.