The Israeli ground offensive into Lebanon appears to be imminent. The most important representative of Hamas in Lebanon is dead. All developments in the news blog.
7.30 p.m.: The United States is sending “a few thousand more soldiers” to the Middle East. The Pentagon said this was intended to increase security and defend Israel if necessary. The additional forces would bring the total number of U.S. troops in the region to up to 43,000.
5.30 p.m.: According to US media reports, Israel is planning a limited ground offensive in Lebanon that could begin shortly. This was reported by the “Washington Post” and the broadcaster CBS, citing a US government official who stated that Israel had informed the USA of a corresponding plan. The operation could therefore begin within hours.
The scope of the operation should be smaller than the war against the radical Islamic Hezbollah militia in 2006. The aim is to ensure security for the communities on the border with Lebanon. A ground offensive by Israel against Hezbollah is likely to fuel fears that the war will expand to include Iran and the USA.
US President Joe Biden did not directly confirm the reports in an exchange with journalists. Asked whether he was aware of and agreed with Israel’s plans to launch a “limited operation” in Lebanon, Biden replied: “I know more than you think. And I agree with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now.”
4:20 p.m.: The Bundeswehr has dispatched an A321 aircraft to evacuate personnel from the German embassy in Lebanon. The plane flew to Beirut on Monday, the Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Defense said. This should fly out “personnel who are not urgently needed” as well as relatives of the embassy employees. Read more about this here.
3:22 p.m.: After warnings of an escalation of the situation in the Middle East following the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock calls the Hezbollah boss a terrorist. “Nasrallah was a terrorist and murderer,” said the Green politician on the sidelines of a parliamentary group congress in Berlin. On Sunday, the minister described the situation in the Middle East after Nasrallah’s killing as “extremely dangerous” and expressed clear criticism of Israel’s actions: “There is a threat of destabilization of the entire Lebanon. And that is in no way in the interest of Israel’s security,” said Baerbock on the ARD program “Report from Berlin”.
After the minister’s words on Sunday, CSU general secretary Martin Huber called on her to resign. “Annalena Baerbock is not up to her job and is overwhelmed,” Huber told the editorial network Germany (RND). “It carries out an unspeakable perpetrator-victim reversal and casts doubt on Israel’s right to self-defense,” Huber said. It is damaging German relations with Israel. “It is no longer sustainable. Therefore, it has to resign,” demanded Huber.
3:07 p.m.: Several Israeli special forces are said to have already entered Lebanon. Several US media reports on this. We are talking about actions in the past few months, but also in the last few days. The special forces are currently said to be busy collecting information and enabling a ground attack by the Israeli army.
9:56 a.m.: According to the UN, around 100,000 people have already fled Lebanon to Syria due to ongoing Israeli air strikes. These are Lebanese and Syrians, explained the UN refugee commissioner Filippo Grandi on X. The flow of refugees continues.
