State Department reports Israeli forces carrying out ‘limited operations’ in Lebanon, US aware
Reports emerged on Sept. 30 that Israeli special operations forces had entered a tunnel system inside Lebanon.
The United States confirmed on Sept. 30 that it’s aware of limited Israeli military ground operations inside Lebanon.
“I’ve seen reports about ground operations,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Sept. 30. “We’ve had some conversations with [Israeli officials] about that. They have, at this time, told us that those are limited operations.”
Miller provided few additional details about the Israeli operations, stating the “limited operations” have focused on “Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.”
Israeli forces have been fighting for months with Hezbollah—a U.S.- and Israeli-designated terrorist organization—in a cross-border skirmish.
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On Sept. 25, the Biden administration joined with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Qatar, and the European Union in a joint statement urging a cease-fire along the Israel–Lebanon border. The parties to the joint statement urged an immediate 21-day cooling-off period in the growing cross-border conflict to allow time for a diplomatic solution to emerge.“Israel may be now launching a limited operation into Lebanon, are you aware of that? Are you comfortable with their plans?” a reporter asked President Joe Biden at a White House press event on Monday.
“I’m more aware than you might know,” Biden replied, “and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now.”
The IDF has yet to comment directly on the reported cross-border operations.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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