Israel has invaded the southern part of Lebanon, escalating its conflict with Hezbollah.
The Israeli ground operation began 30 September, just days after an airstrike killed Hassan Nasrallah. He was the leader of the Iran backed armed group.
Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, while Lebanon endured three weeks aerial bombardment. According to Lebanese officials, more than 1,000 people have been killed and up to one million forced to flee their homes.
Israel and Hezbollah have been at war for decades, but the Gaza War has led to a year-long cross-border conflict between them.
We will be updating the maps on this page constantly to help explain conflict.
* Follow this story for live updates
Watch: Massive explosions near Beirut Airport
* What is Hezbollah? Why is Israel attacking Lebanon and what is Hezbollah?
Listen to the war between Israel and Gaza one year after
New accounts reveal how an Israeli base was destroyed on 7 October by Hamas in six hours.
Map of Lebanon
Lebanon is a small, 5.5 million-person country that borders Syria on the north and east. Israel is to the south. The Mediterranean Sea is to the west. It is located about 170km (105miles) from Cyprus.
Where is the Israeli advance taking place?
On 1 October, Israeli tanks and troops who had gathered near the border crossed over into Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces have announced that they are conducting “limited, targeted, localised and targeted ground raids” on the southern Lebanon to destroy what it calls Hezbollah’s “terrorists infrastructure”.
Israeli troops are directly fighting with Hezbollah on the ground.
According to the IDF, several Israeli soldiers were killed by Hezbollah in ambushes and mortar attacks during operations in southern Lebanon that aimed to “eliminate terrorists”.
Hezbollah reported that its fighters clashed against Israeli forces in Adaisseh and Kafr Kila – both Lebanese towns near the border with Israel.
For Israeli forces, a ground operation in southern Lebanon is fraught with danger. Southern Lebanon is not as flat as Gaza. It has some mountains and rolling hills that make it difficult for tanks moving around without being ambushed.
Hezbollah has also been thought to have tunnels in this region. The group has been preparing for a full-scale war with Israel ever since the 34-day conflict in 2006.
IDF ordered the evacuation of some villages in southern Lebanon as part of its invasion. Those who remained were told to leave and “immediately move north of the Awali River”, which meets the coast at about 50km (30miles) from the border of Israel.
The evacuation orders initially concentrated in the south-east of Lebanon. However, in recent days, more have been issued for villages to the south-west, possibly indicating that Israeli operations will soon extend to this part of the border.
IDF has also warned Lebanese civils not to use vehicles for travel south across the Litani River located approximately 30km (20 miles north of the border).
Before the conflict escalated, about a million people were living in southern Lebanon.
Since the intensification of Israeli air strikes on the region in late September, tens of thousands of people have fled north. Air strikes have hit areas along the coastal road, which runs the length the country. This is the main route for civilians to flee the south.
* How the Israel-Hezbollah war escalated into a ground invasion
What has Israel’s air force targeted?
Israel’s invasion in southern Lebanon came after two weeks of intense airstrikes that Israel’s military claims targeted Hezbollah, the southern suburbs and southern suburbs of Beirut.
Lebanese officials claim that more than 100 women, children and other civilians have been killed by Israel.
Hezbollah has primarily targeted the northern parts of Israel with its recent rocket fire. Some rockets have damaged homes in the southern city of Haifa.
The war in Gaza has sparked almost a full year of hostilities across the border between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel, forcing some Israelis to flee south. Meanwhile, the IDF launched air strikes and artillery against Hezbollah’s positions in Lebanon.
The chart below shows that the number of weekly Israeli strikes on Lebanon tripled the week before IDF’s ground invasion. The number of Hezbollah strikes, although small in comparison, increased in the same period.
Israel has intensified its strikes on Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in recent days.
The majority of strikes have been in the southern suburbs, which are densely populated and home to thousands civilians.
In these areas, near the international airport, there is also a strong Hezbollah influence. A series of Israeli airstrikes on nearby buildings killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, on 27 September.
Israeli air attacks have also targeted locations nearer the city centre. According to Beirut civil defence, a strike on an apartment building near the Lebanese Parliament building on 2 Oct killed several people including paramedics and rescue officers.
The map below, based on satellite data analysis by Corey Scher from CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon van Den Hoek from Oregon State University, shows the areas that have suffered concentrated damage – such as Dahieh and areas along Israel’s border.
What will Israel do Next?
Israel is currently engaged in hostilities against armed forces and non state armed groups in several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Syria, and Iran-backed groups operating across Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq and Syria.
The latest major escalation was Tuesday’s attack by Iran on Israel with ballistic missiles.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the attack as a “big mistake” that Iran will “pay for”.
What might Iran do if Israel responded?
Read More @ www.bbc.com