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BBC
Israel has invaded confederate Lebanon successful a melodramatic escalation of its struggle with Hezbollah.
The Israeli crushed cognition began connected Monday night, days aft an aerial onslaught killed the person of the Iran-backed equipped group, Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into bluish Israel arsenic Lebanon has endured 2 weeks of aerial bombardment that Lebanese authorities accidental has killed much than 1,000 radical and forced up to a cardinal to fly their homes.
Israel has a decades-long past of struggle with Hezbollah but the warfare successful Gaza has sparked astir a twelvemonth of deadly cross-border warring betwixt them.
We volition beryllium continually updating maps successful this leafage to assistance explicate the conflict.
Where is Lebanon?
Lebanon is simply a tiny state with a colonisation of astir 5.5 cardinal people, which borders Syria to the northbound and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It is astir 170km (105 miles) distant from Cyprus.
Where is the Israeli advance?
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it is carrying retired "limited, localised, and targeted crushed raids" successful confederate Lebanon to dismantle what it calls Hezbollah's “terrorist infrastructure”.
On Wednesday, the 2nd afloat time of their penetration into Lebanon, Israeli troops encountered Hezbollah fighters for the archetypal time, says the BBC's Nick Beake who is successful bluish Israel.
Reuters
Israeli tanks astatine an undisclosed determination successful bluish Israel past week
The IDF said soldiers had “eliminated terrorists and dismantled violent infrastructure done precision-guided munitions and close-range engagements” successful respective confederate Lebanese areas.
Later, the IDF announced that 8 troops had been killed successful action. Six were reportedly ambushed by Hezbollah fighters and different 2 were killed by mortar fire.
Hezbollah said its fighters had fired anti-tank missiles astatine Israeli commandos during clashes successful 1 borderline village. It besides claimed that different troops were targeted with explosives and gunfire connected the outskirts of Kafr Kila, that 3 Israeli Merkava tanks were destroyed by missiles adjacent Maroun al-Ras, and that determination were besides clashes successful Adaisseh and Yaroun.
A crushed cognition successful confederate Lebanon comes with galore risks for Israeli forces. Unlike the level coastal plains of Gaza, confederate Lebanon has rolling hills and immoderate mountainous terrain that makes it hard for tanks to determination easy without fearfulness of being ambushed.
Hezbollah is besides thought to person a web of tunnels successful the region, with the radical having been preparing for different full-scale struggle with Israel since the 34-day warfare successful 2006.
The IDF has ordered radical surviving successful immoderate villages successful confederate Lebanon to evacuate, telling those remaining to permission their homes and "immediately caput to the northbound of the Awali River" – which meets the seashore astir 50km (30 miles) from the borderline with Israel.
Lebanese civilians person besides been warned by the IDF not to usage vehicles to question southbound crossed the Litani River, located astir 30km (20 miles) northbound of the border.
About a cardinal radical lived successful confederate Lebanon earlier the struggle escalated astir a twelvemonth ago. Tens of thousands person been fleeing northbound since Israeli aerial strikes successful the portion intensified successful precocious September.
Israeli aerial defences were besides successful enactment again connected Wednesday, a time aft they repelled the immense bulk of the much than 180 ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards Israel connected Tuesday nighttime successful retaliation for the onslaught that killed Hassan Nasrallah arsenic good arsenic a apical Iranian commander.
More than 240 rockets were fired from confederate Lebanon towards bluish Israel passim the day, according to the IDF.
What person Israel’s aerial strikes targeted?
Israel’s penetration of confederate Lebanon came aft astir 2 weeks of aggravated aerial strikes targeting Hezbollah’s strongholds crossed the country.
Southern Lebanon has been astir affected, with strikes besides targeting the eastbound Bekaa Valley and successful the confederate suburbs of Beirut.
Israel says it is hitting Hezbollah sites, including weapons stores and ammunition dumps, but Lebanese officials accidental much than 100 women and children person been killed.
For Lebanese civilians trying to fly from confederate Lebanon, the main way northbound is the coastal roadworthy that runs the magnitude of the state - but areas on that way person been targeted by aerial strikes successful caller days.
The bulk of the rockets precocious fired by Hezbollah person targeted bluish areas of Israel. But immoderate rockets person reached further southbound and damaged homes adjacent the coastal metropolis of Haifa.
The Israeli strikes connected Beirut person focused connected Dahieh, a confederate suburb which is simply a densely populated country that is location to thousands of civilians and has a beardown Hezbollah presence.
What could hap next?
Israel is present engaged successful hostilities with equipped forces and non-state equipped groups successful respective countries successful the region, including Iran, Syria and Iran-backed groups operating successful Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Iran's ballistic rocket onslaught connected Israel was the latest large escalation.
What happens adjacent is unclear, but Israel has vowed to respond, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the onslaught arsenic "a large mistake" that Iran "will wage for".
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