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Reuters

The next phase of the war along the southern border of Lebanon is set to begin soon, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday, as at least two US newspapers reported that special forces may have already made short incursions.
“The next stage in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon,” Gallant told a meeting of local council heads in northern Israel, according to a statement from his office.
He said the next phase would contribute to achieving the war aim of returning residents evacuated from the area to their homes.

Israel launched small ground raids against Hezbollah as it prepares for a larger ground operation in Lebanon, officials said on Monday.
A US official said Israel has informed the US about the raids that are under way and that Israel has not provided timing on plans for a larger operation.
The US has not told Israel to halt all of its operations in Lebanon and would not do so as Washington supports Israel’s right to defend itself, according to the official.
A Western official, a diplomat in Cairo whose country is directly involved in de-escalation efforts, said an Israeli ground operation in Lebanon is “imminent”. The diplomat said Israel has shared its plans with the United States and other Western allies and that the operation will “be limited”.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. It was not clear if Israel had made a final decision on a broader operation. The Israeli military did not comment.
Hezbollah vowed on Monday to keep fighting even after much of its top command, including long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah, was recently wiped out.
The US, meanwhile, is sending an additional “few thousand” troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to be prepared to defend Israel if necessary, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The increased presence will come from multiple fighter jet squadrons, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters.

The additional security includes squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16, A-10 and F-22 fighter jets and the staff needed to support them.
The jets were supposed to rotate in and replace the squadrons already there. Instead, both the existing and new squadrons will remain in place to double the air power on hand.
On Sunday, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also said he was temporarily extending the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and its associated squadrons in the region.
The jets are not there to help in an evacuation, Singh said, “they are there for the protection of US forces”.
The European Union’s Josep Borrell said EU member states have called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Lebanon.
Also on Monday, Yemen’s Houthis said they will escalate military operations against Israel in response to its attacks on the country, a day after an Israeli attack against Houthi targets which the Yemeni group’s spokesman said left five dead and 57 injured.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Israel-Gaza war

A smoke plume erupts after an Israeli airstrike targets the outskirts of a village in southern Lebanon on Monday. Photo: AFP

Heavy smoke of Israeli air raids billows from the southern Lebanese border town Khiam on Monday. Photo: Stringer / dpa

A view from Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre shows a cloud of smoke erupting after an Israeli air strike on the village of Qlayleh on Monday. Photo: AFP

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday. Photo: Reuters

People listen to a speech by Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Kassem at a barber’s shop in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday. Photo: AP

Lebanese and Palestinian men hold portraits during a protest in the Lebanese city of Sidon on Saturday of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on Friday. Photo: AP

A Palestinian rescuer inspects the damage after an Israeli strike in Gaza earlier this month. Photo: AFP

This image taken from a video shows a walkie-talkie that exploded inside a house in east Lebanon on September 18. Photo: AP

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World

Middle East

US official said Israeli troop positioning suggests that a ground incursion into Lebanon could be imminent


US official said Israeli troop positioning suggests that a ground incursion into Lebanon could be imminent.
