Israel begins ground op beyond 'Yellow Line' to confront Hezbollah drone threat

The Israeli army has begun ground operations beyond the Israeli-designated Yellow Line in south Lebanon, as the world expects the Trump administration to soon reach a ceasefire with Iran, which will likely impose a fuller ceasefire on the Israeli army versus Hezbollah, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

The new incursion comes in response to ongoing Hezbollah fiber-optic drone attacks, which have harmed an increasing number of Israeli soldiers, the report said.

It is unclear how much deeper the Israeli army intends to penetrate.

However, multiple Israeli army officials had recently cited specific locations beyond the Yellow Line, near their existing positions, from which they believed they could reduce the drone threat if they occupied those positions.

On the other hand, if Hezbollah simply moves its drones and launching teams back further, it could potentially continue to launch drones on Israeli forces.

Whether the latest penetration is designed to gradually increase Israeli control of Lebanese territory as a pressure point to get Hezbollah to reduce drone attacks or even agree to partial disarmament, or whether it is more symbolic to show the Israeli public that the Israeli army and government are responding harshly to the drone attacks, also remains unclear, The Jerusalem Post said.