Israel sends troops into southern Lebanon as Hezbollah vows 'open war'
Mar 3rd 2026
After rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah and a wave of Israeli airstrikes that killed 40 people, Israel moved troops into southern Lebanon and ordered mass evacuations as the group declared it was ready for open war.
- Israeli forces entered several areas of southern Lebanon and took positions near the border while warning residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate.
- Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at northern Israel and said it was ready for an open war after months of cross-border exchanges.
- Israeli airstrikes killed 40 people in Lebanon, including a Palestinian militant and a Hezbollah intelligence official, and damaged Hezbollah media facilities in Beirut suburbs.
- Lebanese authorities reported 246 wounded, tens of thousands displaced, and said 397 people had died in Israeli strikes in Lebanon after the November ceasefire and before the latest Hezbollah attacks.
- UNIFIL said peacekeepers observed Israeli troops making forays across the border then returning, while Lebanon said its army was repositioning and evacuating some border positions.