The ground operation in Lebanon is limited, a wider operation is not on the “table”, an Israeli security official said according to Reuters.

We will not allow an October 7-type attack on the Israeli border, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said, commenting on the military operation in Lebanon. “Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages into bases ready to attack Israel,” he said, responding to backlash over the operation. Ground raids in Lebanon target Lebanese strongholds along the border.

“We are at war with Hezbollah, not with the people of Lebanon,” Hagari insisted. “These limited ground raids will target Hezbollah strongholds that threaten Israeli cities, kibbutzim and communities along our border,” he said.

Airstrikes in Beirut’s Dahiye district overnight targeted several Hezbollah sites, including weapons production facilities and other military infrastructure, the Israeli military said in a statement earlier.

“The terrorist organization Hezbollah is deliberately strengthening its weapons production and military facilities under the heart of Beirut and embedding them in population centers of the city,” the army said, adding that it was continuing to operate “to ensure the restoration of security in the state of Israel and its citizens”.

The Israel Defense Forces announced that as part of the ground operation in Lebanon that began on Monday, they had carried out “precise strikes” on Hezbollah weapons manufacturing sites and infrastructure in the mainly Shiite Beirut suburb of Ntahiei. For its part, Hezbollah announced that it hit Israeli forces in Metula with artillery fire.

Israel said heavy fighting broke out with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, with its paratroopers and commandos, at the start of a ground invasion that followed airstrikes against Hezbollah’s leadership.

The invasion of the Israeli forces started from three fronts, namely from the areas of Metula, Meshgav Am and Kfar Giladi. The first objective is the destruction of Hezbollah positions near the border.

The Israeli military’s goals are to destroy terrorist infrastructure, kill Hezbollah terrorists, and disrupt terrorist activity.

Ground maneuvers in several villages in Lebanon’s eastern sector on Tuesday were supported by extensive Air Force operations aimed at gathering intelligence on the situation on the ground and targeting terrorists operating inside buildings.

More than a million people fled their homes in anticipation of the Israeli ground operation in Lebanon, according to the UN, and according to Monday’s data, before the “limited scope” operation, according to the IDF, began.

The Israeli military issued an emergency warning late Monday for residents in Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate due to impending airstrikes on Hezbollah targets.

Over the past 13 days the conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli army has escalated dramatically. Airstrikes and rocket attacks set the stage for the war, the simultaneous mass blasts of Hezbollah drones killing dozens and wounding thousands followed by a wave of airstrikes and rocket retaliation.

The US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin he stated with conviction, as did his Israeli counterpart Joab Gallantabout the “need” to “destroy its attack infrastructure”. Hezbollahxas the Israeli armed forces confirmed overnight that they were conducting ground operations in the southern part of its territory Lebanon against the Shiite movement.

Live image of Beirut while the Israeli ground operation is underway: