Middle East: Israel sends troops to southwest Lebanon

Turkey announced that it will send ships to Lebanon to evacuate around 2,000 of its citizens on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said in a statement that two Turkish ships will leave a port in the southern Turkish province of Mersin for Beirut on Tuesday. Officials said the evacuation process would continue in the following days if necessary.

Some 14,000 citizens of Turkey are estimated to be residing in Lebanon.

Last week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said guidelines for the evacuation of third countries' citizens via Turkey were also determined, adding that necessary preparations were underway in cooperation with nearly 20 countries that have requested support.

Iran warned Israel against attacking its infrastructure, vowing heavy consequences.

"Any attack against infrastructure in Iran will provoke an even stronger response," state television quoted Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Rassul Sanairad had also warned Israel on Sunday that any attack on nuclear or energy sites would cross a "red line."

An official statement on Monday quoted Araghchi as saying Iran did not seek war in the region.

Major international airlines canceled flights to the region amid concerns over a wider conflict, with Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv and Lebanon's capital Beirut most affected.

US airline Delta, Germany's Lufthansa and Italy's ITA Airways all canceled flights to Tel Aviv until October 31, while low-budget UK carrier EasyJet extended its flight suspensions until March 30, 2025. Air India has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv until further notice.

The French and Dutch group Air France-KLM extended its flight suspensions to Beirut to October 26, while Turkish airline Pegasus canceled flights to Beirut until October 28. UAE's Emirates airline canceled flights to Beirut through October 15, while others, like Algeria's Air Algerie and Qatar Airways, suspended flights to Lebanon indefinitely.

Other cities in the vicinity of the conflict have also been affected. Qatar's national carrier also suspended flights to Iran and Iraq, while Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling canceled flights to Amman, Jordan until further notice.

A major route connecting Iran and Lebanon has also been suspended, with Iran Air canceling all flights to and from Beirut until further notice.

Hezbollah's deputy leader, Naim Kassem, said in a televised address on Tuesday that the group's capabilities were intact and its fighters were repelling Israeli ground incursions despite the "painful blows" the militant group suffered in recent weeks.

Kassem warned that more Israelis will be displaced as the militant group expands its rocket fire deeper into Israel.

"We are firing hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones. A large number of settlements and cities are under the fire of the resistance," Kassem said.

But Hezbollah's acting leader also said the group supported the efforts by Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri to secure a cease-fire. He did not provide any further details on possible conditions Hezbollah demands.

The group previously said a cease-fire in Lebanon would be reliant on a cease-fire in Gaza.

Kassem said that Hezbollah is expected to name a new leader to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month, "but the circumstances are difficult because of the war."

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that ground operations in southwest Lebanon had begun in a move that would expand its incursions to a new zone in its ongoing fight with the militant group Hezbollah.

Iran-backed Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

"Yesterday (Monday), the 146th Division began limited, localized, targeted operational activities against Hezbollah terror targets and infrastructure in southwestern Lebanon," the military said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

The announcement comes after Israel's military struck Beirut's southern suburbs overnight, saying a senior Hezbollah official responsible for the group's budgeting and logistics had been killed.

The Israel Defense Forces have also imposed a naval blockade stretching 60 kilometers (37 miles) along Lebanon's southern Mediterranean coast. The IDF warned civilians that going to beaches or heading out to sea on boats is "life-threatening" until further notice.

jcg/ab (AFP, dpa, Reuters, AP)