Israeli military says it has launched ground offensive in Lebanon

The Israeli military said its forces launched a "targeted and limited" invasion of southern Lebanon late on Monday, amid a flurry of air strikes on the capital Beirut and other densely populated areas, as Lebanese media said there were no confirmations yet that Israeli troops had entered the country.

A statement from the Israeli army said that it was targeting villages in localised raids near the boundary that "pose an immediate and real threat to Israeli settlements on the northern border".

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces attacked the towns of Bint Jbeil, Tayri, Kounine and Blida, all just north of the border with Israel.

Sources on the ground told Al-Mayadeen TV, which is close to Hezbollah, that there were no indications that Israeli soldiers crossed the boundary into Lebanon as of Tuesday morning.

Earlier on Monday Lebanese troops pulled back five kilometres from their positions on the southern border while the Israeli military declared three areas in northern Israel as "closed military zones".