<div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Israeli army said Tuesday that troops have started "ground raids" in villages in southern Lebanon, after militant group Hezbollah said it had targeted "enemy soldiers" at the countries' border.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Lebanese security official said Israel had also conducted at least six strikes on south Beirut, while Syrian state media reported deadly strikes around the capital Damascus.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite international calls for de-escalation, Israel has vowed to keep fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah and declared a military zone in parts of its border with Lebanon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned the battle was not over even after a massive strike on Beirut that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, dealing the group a seismic blow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel's military said troops, backed by airstrikes and artillery, launched ground raids targeting Hezbollah "in villages close to the border".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The targets "pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel", the military said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel informed its main weapons supplier the United States of the incursions, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US President Joe Biden indicated earlier on Monday that he opposed an Israeli ground operation, calling for a "ceasefire now".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hezbollah has said it is "ready if Israel decides to enter by land".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Deadly strikes on Damascus -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As Israel announced its ground raids, Syria's official news agency SANA said the country's air defence systems had intercepted three rounds of strikes in the Damascus area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">State television said anchor Safaa Ahmad was killed "in the Israeli aggression" on Damascus, while SANA reported three civilians killed and nine others wounded.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria in recent years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the Israeli air force pounded south Beirut, a Palestinian camp official in south Lebanon said an Israeli strike hit Ain al-Helweh camp in the city of Sidon, targeting a Palestinian militant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The strike hit "the house of the son of Mounir Maqdah," the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Israel has accused Maqdah of heading the Lebanese branch of Fatah's armed wing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hezbollah earlier said it "targeted" Israeli troops in the border village of Shtula, with a source close to the group saying the soldiers were "right on the border".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah following the Israeli army's announcement of the ground raids, but the group's al-Manar television reported the Israeli statement on its Telegram channel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US news site Axios cited two Israeli officials saying the military incursion is "targeted and limited in time and scope and is not intended to occupy southern Lebanon".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lebanon's national army, dwarfed by Hezbollah's military power, was "repositioning" troops farther from the border, a military official told AFP.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">World leaders have urged de-escalation, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric saying: "We do not want any sort of ground invasion."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Israel orders Beirut evacuations -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This month, Israel launched a wave of deadly air strikes aimed at Hezbollah across Lebanon, the latest of which killed 95 people on Monday, according to Lebanon's health ministry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Monday evening, the Israeli military ordered people in three districts of southern Beirut to evacuate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"You are located near interests and facilities belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah group... you must evacuate the buildings immediately," Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">AFP correspondents in the capital heard explosions and saw a flash around ground level.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hezbollah began low-intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered Israel's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The border clashes rapidly escalated this month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Everyone is afraid' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel's strikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds of people over the past week and forced up to a million to flee their homes, according to Lebanese officials.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hezbollah and other groups launched rockets, drones and missiles at Israel over the same period, causing some injuries but no deaths.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran, which backs Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed groups, of plunging "our region deeper... into war".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Iran has said Nasrallah's killing would bring about Israel's "destruction", though the foreign ministry said Monday that Tehran would not deploy any fighters to confront Israel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for a ceasefire based on a recent US-French proposal, urging "an end to the Israeli aggression against Lebanon".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier on Monday, an Israeli strike hit a building in central Beirut, with an armed Palestinian group saying it had killed three of its members.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Central Beirut resident Kahier Bannout, 42, said it was "supposed to be a safe area -- not a war zone".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Everyone is afraid."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than 1,000 people have been killed since September 17.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said: "Well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon", while more than 100,000 have fled to neighbouring Syria.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Little time' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said "there is still hope" for a ceasefire, "but there is little time".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington is working "to advance a diplomatic resolution" for the Israel-Lebanon border and Gaza.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US, Qatar and Egypt tried for months to broker such a deal, which Netanyahu's critics accused him of obstructing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Gaza, AFP journalists said the number of Israeli air strikes has dropped significantly in recent days.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A UN Satellite Centre assessment issued Monday said "two-thirds of the total structures in the Gaza Strip have sustained damage" in nearly a year of war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,615 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>