Israeli special forces ‘storm Hezbollah tunnels INSIDE Lebanon’ as Netanyahu warns ‘there’s nowhere out of our reach’
Watch as Israeli tanks move to the border with Lebanon
ISRAELI special forces have stormed “Hezbollah tunnels inside Lebanon” as Netanyahu warns there’s nowhere Israel cannot reach.
Military bosses have massed tanks and 13,000 reservists at its northern border with Lebanon to pave the way for a bloody showdown with Hezbollah terror troops.
The IDF’s elite troops have carried out raids in southern Lebanon ahead of the possible invasion.
Hezbollah tunnels located along the border have been stormed as Israel seeks to hamstring the Iranian-proxy force.
Netanyahu addressed the people of Iran in a televised speech today delivering a chillingly warning there’s “nowhere in the Middle East that Israel cannot reach”.
The Prime Minister also told the Iranian people this was a “pivotal moment” and their leadership was taking them “closer to the abyss”.
He said: “Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you, make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza.
“Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war.”
US officials have confirmed Israel has notified the White House that it intends to invade Lebanon – which could start within hours.
Israel continues to escalate the conflict against Iran‘s allies in the Middle East – amid fears the region could be on the brink of all-out war.
But Iran has appeared to blink first as a spokesperson said it would not send troops to Lebanon or Gaza.
The spokesperson said: “there is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, adding that fighters in those territories “have the capability and strength to defend themselves against aggression”.
Hezbollah chiefs have warned they are ready to fight too, but so many of their leadership have been killed by Israel it is not clear what state the paramilitary force is in.
Britain has since called for a ceasefire after an Israeli air campaign hammering Hezbollah strongholds with airstrikes.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer‘s spokesperson said that “any further escalation must be avoided” and that “a ceasefire will provide the space necessary to find the political solution that is necessary to secure peace in the region”.
Israeli defence minister Minister Yoav Gallant told troops deployed to the country’s northern border: “The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one.
“In order to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities, we will employ all of our capabilities, and this includes you.”
He added: “We will use all the forces from the air, sea and land”.
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was killed in a massive missile blitz on Friday.
A massive Israeli strike ripped through the 64-year-old terror chief’s underground command post in Beirut.
Since the assassination, the US have said that “the region, the world are safer without him”.
But Secretary of State Antony Blinken also vowed that the US would continue working “urgently” to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
US sources said Israel had already launched or prepared cross-border operations to take out threatening Hezbollah positions.
The probing missions by special forces teams were ordered as thousands of Israeli reservists were drafted to join a new ground war across the northern frontier.
An Israeli official today told the Telegraph: “They [elite troops] are targeting key sites which have been built across the border zone.”
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant confirmed a wider offensive was under discussion as dozens of Merkava battle tanks were seen rumbling towards Lebanon.
Three more battalions of around 3,000 reserve soldiers were called up after two brigades, totalling around 10,000, were moved north.
Crack commando units battle-hardened from months of fighting Hezbollah’s Hamas allies in Gaza were also in position and have been training for the bloody ground incursion.
Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem today insisted the terror group is ready for any Israeli ground offensive.
He vowed Hezbollah will continue with its mission against Israel despite the loss of its leader and other top brass.
Qassem said: “We will not budge an inch from our position in supporting Gaza and Palestine and defending Lebanon and its people.
“We are confident the Israeli enemy will not achieve its aims.
“We know that the battle is long and the options are open to us, and we are ready for the enemy to enter by land, as the resistance forces are ready for the ground encounter.”
Qassem also said Nasrallah will be replaced as chief at the “earliest opportunity”.
Israel has today expanded its ruthless drive to decapitate terror groups with more assassinations after the deaths of Hamas’ boss in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s chief.
Three key leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have now been killed by a suspected precision drone strike on an apartment block in Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Laser-like intelligence directed drone operators to targets on the fourth floor of an apartment block in the central suburb of Kola.
A missile decimated the corner apartment plot killing PFLP officials Mohamed Abdel, Imad Awda and Abdul Rahman.
The attack on the PFLP – which has specialised in hijacking, kidnap and terrorist murder plots since the 70’s – suggested Israel was widening its target range.
One other person was killed and nine more reported injured in the explosion.
Moment Yemen oil tanks explode in huge fireball
Footage shows a gigantic fireball shoot into the sky after IDF jets hit the fuel while it was being stored at a port in Yemen yesterday.
The fireball dissipates into black smoke in the sky but a massive blaze continues to burn at the port and secondary strikes erupt.
Four have been reportedly killed and 33 injured, local media said.
The strikes extends Israel’s bombing campaign which has hammered Lebanon over the last two weeks killing thousands.
The IDF said fighter jets, refuel planes, and spy planes took part in the operation that hit the targets 1,800km from Israel.
Israel’s strikes are a retaliation against the militants after they launched rockets at Israel over the past few days.
One of those was targeted at Ben Gurion Airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from New York.
That missile was shot down outside Israel’s borders, the IDF said, and Netanyahu’s plane had landed 35 minutes before sirens sounded.
