Israel has sent troops into southern Lebanon and told residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an “open war” with Israel in the wake of the U.

Israel said it deployed more forces in Lebanon to protect its people, but its military chief said the goal is more ambitious: to disarm Hezbollah. Israel made plans for the incursion well in advance.

Lebanon's health ministry says 31 people were killed by Israeli strikes, while there are no reports of casualties in Israel.

Syrians living in Lebanon wait at the Ministry of Interior Immigration and Passports Department, at the Syrian-Lebanese border, as they return to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar

As Israel intensifies its campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, Lebanon is now teetering on the brink of being fully sucked into the escalating US and Israeli war on Iran – a fate the fragile Lebanese government has been desperate to avoid.

Israel has invaded southern Lebanon in a major escalation of the war in the Middle East. IDF troops crossed the border on Monday night after Hezbollah launched missiles southwards for the first time in 15 months, in revenge for Israel’s killing of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. Iran arms, funds and directs the terror group.

Israel launches major strikes in Tehran and Lebanon as NATO ally Turkey is targeted by Iran for the first time during the five-day war.

The IDF says it has redeployed the 146th Reserve Division to the western portion of the Lebanon border. The division had been tasked with the western portion of the border with Lebanon from the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023, before being withdrawn in May 2025.