IDF begins Lebanon ground invasion, Israel strikes Beirut suburbs

Israeli officials and ministers have expressed their support and blessings for Israel's ground operation in southern Lebanon, which began on Monday night as tensions between Hezbollah and Israel continued to escalate.

Israel's ground operation in Lebanon marks the first IDF operation in the country since the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

One of the first official reactions to the invasion came from MK Moshe Solomon of the Religious Zionist Party, who made a post on X/Twitter blessing Israel's endeavors as it initiated the ground operation before the IDF made an official announcement confirming that troops had entered Lebanon.

Six people were killed in an Israel Air Force strike in Shejaia in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, Walla reported, citing Palestinian reports. 

The IDF intercepted two rockets that were identified to have crossed over from Lebanon into the Upper Galilee on Tuesday morning, the military announced shortly after rocket sirens sounded throughout the area.

One rocket fired from Lebanon struck an open area near the northern kibbutz of Bar’am, the IDF added.

No casualties or damage were subsequently reported.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Tuesday that it has received a report of an incident 64 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's Hodeidah, adding that the authorities are investigating.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday, the Department of Defense said.

"They agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel's northern communities," the department said in a statement.

Austin reaffirmed that a diplomatic resolution is required to ensure that civilians can return safely to their homes on both sides of the border, according to the department.

After the IDF announced in the early hours of Tuesday morning that it had begun conducting a limited ground operation in Lebanon, international figures were divided in calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, with many expressing support for the operations.

Hezbollah began firing rockets toward Israel a day after Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel on October 7. The terror group's attacks saw tens of thousands of civilians evacuated and a number killed in rocket and drone attacks - including 12 Druze children killed in an attack on Majdal Shams. 

Democratic Senator John Fetterman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “I fully support Israel’s choice to do what’s necessary to neutralize Hezbollah.”

A senior member of Fatah, Munir al-Maqdah, was wounded in a strike on the Palestinian refugee camp Ain al-Hilweh, located in Lebanon, during the early hours of Tuesday, Israeli media reported, citing Al Hadath.

Approximately ten projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanese territories and targeting northern Israel, the IDF reported on Tuesday overnight.

Following the siren alerts in the Meron area of northern Israel, the IDF announced that some of the ten projectiles were intercepted, and some of the remaining projectiles reportedly fell in open areas.

No wounded were reported from the firing of the projectiles.

IDF soldiers entered southern Lebanon as part of a ground assault on Monday night while the conflict with Hezbollah continued to escalate increasingly, Israel's military confirmed the operation during the early hours of Tuesday morning.

"The IDF began limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon," Israel's military said.

It added that the IDF will be carrying out "a methodical plan set out by the General Staff and the Northern Command, which soldiers have trained and prepared for in recent months."

Three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital Damascus, Syrian state media said early on Tuesday citing a military source.

Syrian state television earlier said that one of its presenters was killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus. It was unclear whether the presenter was among the three civilians mentioned by state media.