A ground conflict has begun in Lebanon this morning as part of an Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah following weeks of cross-border fire.

A statement from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) confirmed this morning that “targeted” raids on Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon were underway, and were being supported by further air strikes. Previous IDF bombings have resulted in the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and top military commander Ali Karaki. Lebanon’s health ministry claims strikes on Sunday claimed the lives of more than 50 people.

Further escalation was previously signaled on Monday by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, saying the state would use “all the means” at its disposal to attack Hezbollah and support the return of displaced Israeli citizens to their homes on the Lebanese border.

“The next phase in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon,” he said.

Tensions in the region have escalated dramatically since Hamas launched an attack against Israel on October 7 last year. The armed Palestinian group took hostages and killed 1,139 people, including 695 Israeli citizens. Israel immediately declared war on the group and the following week they launched targeted raids on the Gaza strip with the stated aim of preparing for their subsequent large-scale ground offensive.

Hezbollah have launched regular rocket attacks on Israel in response to its operations in Gaza and the IDF has consistently retaliated against these attacks. Violence has escalated in the region as Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry have reported over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict.

The increasing intensity of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to tell a State Department conference last night that de-escalation should be called for.

The IDF began its raids in Lebanon’s south this morning, in keeping with today’s statement, which said: “The IDF is continuing to operate to achieve the goals of the war and is doing everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes.”