Jerusalem, March 16 – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Monday that it had begun "limited and targeted ground operations" against key Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the operation, saying it was intended "to remove threats and protect the residents of the north."
Security sources and eyewitnesses reported fierce clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters along multiple border axes. Israeli forces have been advancing toward the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated boundary between Israel and Lebanon, establishing positions in towns and strategic points throughout the border region.
This escalation is part of a broader widening of the Middle East conflict that began on February 28 with a US-Israeli air campaign against Iran. Hezbollah, which controls much of southern Lebanon and is a key Iranian ally, has regularly exchanged rocket and drone fire with Israeli forces since renewing attacks on March 2, two days after the killing of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli strike.
Hezbollah fighters have fortified their positions and pushed back against Israeli advances, producing some of the fiercest border clashes since a fragile ceasefire ended a previous year-long war in late 2024, Xinhua news agency reported. That ceasefire had halted widespread hostilities that displaced hundreds of thousands of people and caused significant infrastructure damage on both sides.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Monday it had destroyed an aircraft used by Iran's top leadership at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, claiming the strike would hamper coordination between Tehran and its regional allies. Israel also said it carried out strikes on infrastructure in several Iranian cities.
In a statement, the IDF said the plane had served senior political and military figures for both domestic and international travel. The military added that eliminating the aircraft would disrupt communication between Iran's leadership and allied groups across the region, slow Tehran's military buildup, and limit its ability to restore damaged capabilities.
The aircraft was identified as an Airbus A340 previously used to transport senior leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and, in the past, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to diplomatic engagements abroad. Iranian authorities did not immediately confirm the strike, Xinhua news agency reported.
Mehrabad Airport, located in western Tehran, is one of the capital's oldest aviation hubs. While Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport handles most long-haul international flights, Mehrabad remains the country's busiest domestic airport and also hosts military facilities, including units of the Iranian Air Force.
Separately, on Monday, the IDF said it struck targets in the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz, and Tabriz, as the US-Israeli campaign against Iran entered its 17th day.