Israel starts ground raids into Lebanon

Israel said commando and paratroop units launched raids into Lebanon yesterday as part of a "limited" ground incursion, while Iran-backed

Hezbollah said it had fired a barrage of missiles into Israel, including at its Mossad spy agency near Tel Aviv.

The raids in southern Lebanon that began overnight went only a short distance over the border, and no direct clashes with Hezbollah fighters were reported.

The raids follow intense airstrikes that have devastated the Hezbollah's leadership, including killing its chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.

A military spokesman warned residents of Ain Ebl and at least 20 other towns to evacuate their homes immediately because the military would attack houses that armed group Hezbollah was using.

Hezbollah said it had fired missiles at military positions and Mossad, blamed for assassinations of Hezbollah commanders and leaders, and a military intelligence unit. Two people were wounded.

Israel launched an attack on Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, in a first strike on Ain el-Hilweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian camp, since hostilities broke out nearly a year ago.

The incursion came soon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was nowhere in the Middle East beyond Israel's reach.

Starting off by saying he was addressing the people of Iran, Netanyahu blamed Tehran for plunging the Middle East "deeper into war" at the cost of its own people.

He said Tehran was bringing Iranians "closer to the abyss."

Iran and Israel would be at peace when Iran is "finally free", which he said would "come a lot sooner than

people think."

REUTERS