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Israel’s Ongoing Attempts at a Ground Invasion in South Lebanon Fail

On Oct. 1, the Israeli military announced the beginning of its “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids” against South Lebanon. 

Since then, its army has failed to advance into Lebanese territory beyond a couple hundred meters before being forced to retreat.

Along several axes, and for two weeks now, the Israeli military has attempted to infiltrate into Lebanese territory, only to be met with the firepower of the Islamic resistance.

As Israeli troops assembled along the border, the Israeli Air Force condensed its airstrikes, accompanied by extensive drone activity against South Lebanon. It also used artillery shelling, smoke bombs, and phosphorus bombs on the hills and valleys along the border. 

This move came as Israel prepared to cross the Lebanese border with troops and tanks, either through existing border crossings, or by opening new ones in the wall.

Initial attempts at a ground invasion were made in four directions: the vicinity of the Metula site; and the area between Aitaroun, Yaroun, and Maroun el-Ras.

The elite soldiers of the Israeli army attempted, under artillery and aerial cover, to advance from two axes towards the towns of Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun on the front edge. 

Upon the forces’ arrival at the previously prepared ambush points, the Islamic resistance fighters detonated a number of IEDs, some of which were planted a day prior, and clashed with the Israeli soldiers with weapons and rockets from close ranges that reached point blank. 

This led to a number of deaths and injuries among the ranks of the Israeli force. Those who were not injured carried a dead or wounded person, and withdrew under artillery cover from the enemy’s positions inside the occupied territories, as explained by a field officer of the Islamic Resistance Operations Room.

False Claims of Land Seizure

The footage released by the Israeli army showing its soldiers near homes in a border village in Southern Lebanon were taken in geographical spots only tens of meters away from the occupied territories, where Lebanese southerners had built their homes near the border. 

There were several incidents of this nature, where the Israeli army would release footage claiming to have seized a town, only for it to be revealed later on that it had only entered Lebanese soil for a couple meters before being thwarted by the Islamic resistance

In some cases, Israeli troops advanced into the towns only to fall into an ambush.

In Odeisseh, the moment an Israeli force appeared in Khallet el-Mahafer, resistance fighters targeted it, inflicting many casualties. The Israelis withdrew and assembled in an area West of the Misgav Am settlement. 

The resistance fighters then fired a guided missile that hit the middle of this assembly, which led to additional Israeli casualties. Helicopters soon arrived to retrieve the dead and wounded.

Several days later, an elite Israeli force infiltrated on an advancing path toward the vicinity of the Odeisseh municipality building. It reached a pre-arranged ambush point, which was prepared by the resistance after having detected the movement of the force. 

The resistance then opened fire with light and medium machine guns toward the Israeli force, resulting in the explosion of mines that the Israelis had in their possession with the aim of booby-trapping the municipality building. 

This led to the deaths and injuries of approximately 15 Israeli soldiers. Israeli rescue teams worked with fire cover from military helicopters to pull the dead and wounded from the site of the operation toward the occupied territories.

Israeli Attempts at Infiltration 

Days later, Israeli troops attempted to infiltrate through another axis, from the direction of Labbouneh and al-Msahyrfeh, attempting to take advantage of the terrain. 

The invading troops took cover behind the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outposts in the area, threatening the safety and security of the peacekeeping troops. 

Resistance fighters waited until Israeli troops moved before targeting them, ensuring the safety of the UNIFIL.

Israeli attempts to infiltrate through this axis continued, where a group of Israeli soldiers, accompanied and protected by a Merkava tank, tried to advance towards the Labouneh area from Ras al-Naqoura. 

As soon as the tank was within their range of fire, resistance fighters targeted it with a guided missile that landed directly, destroying the tank and setting it on fire. Israeli tank crew were killed, and several soldiers taking cover behind it were injured. 

The Israelis failed in four attempts, over a period of hours, to advance to withdraw their casualties, as the resistance fighters repelled them each time, forcing them to withdraw. 

Attempts to infiltrate through Aita al-Shaab, al-Qouzah, Ramieh, and Rab al-Thalathine also failed.

Israel Targets UNIFIL

The UNIFIL began expressing concerns for the safety of their troops with the Israeli announcement of the ground incursion. The threats posed by the Israeli military against the peacekeeping troops increased by the day.

In Maroun el-Ras, the Israeli army was carrying out military activities immediately adjacent to the mission’s position 6-52, southeast of Maroun el-Ras, which alerted the UNIFIL.

In Naqoura, the Israeli army targeted the UNIFIL Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions repeatedly, inflicting casualties amongst the ranks of the peacekeeping troops. 

Two peacekeepers were injured after a Merkava tank fired weapons toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing it to fall. The Naqoura headquarters was targeted several times across the span of days.

In Ramieh, two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the position’s main gate and forcibly entered. They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights. 

The tanks left about 45 minutes later, after UNIFIL protested through its liaison mechanism, saying that “IDF presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.” Later that morning, 15 peacekeepers suffered health complications after the smoke entered the camp.

Until now, the Israeli army has failed to gain control of any of the key hills in its attempts to advance toward South Lebanon, as confrontations along the border continue.

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Author

  • Aya N.

    Based in South Lebanon, Aya is interested in resistance groups in West Asia and the history and geopolitics of the region.

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