Israel is carrying out a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, marking a new phase of its conflict with Hezbollah. 

In a statement on X, the Israel Defense Forces announced what it called “limited, localized, and targeted raids” against Hezbollah that it said were “in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.”

The IDF added that its forces were “operating according to a methodical plan set out by the General Staff and the Northern Command which IDF soldiers have trained and prepared for in recent months.” 

The raids into Lebanon come as the international community has been bracing for a potential ground invasion carried out by Israel.

A State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, called the IDF activity “limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border,” the AP reported, and he said the American government had been informed by Israel about the raids.

In the past few weeks, Israel has stepped up its strikes against Hezbollah as Jerusalem seeks to end the fighting along the country’s northern border following Hamas’ October 7 attack. 

Hezbollah began launching strikes targeting towns in Israel in solidarity with Hamas last year, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate the area. And Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed Israel will return the displaced citizens to their homes. 

In the last two weeks, Israel has carried out a series of strikes targeting high-ranking Hezbollah commanders using exploding pagers and airstrikes. Over the weekend, Israel confirmed it had killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a strike on Friday at Beirut. 

The increased level of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah sparked concerns among Western leaders and diplomats that the conflict could spiral into a full-scale war.

“Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon — the people of Israel — and the people of the world — cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza,” the United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said.