While the Israeli population is preparing to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, the military IDF continues its attacks "on all fronts".
"Soldiers from IDF will celebrate the holidays in Gaza, Lebanon, Judea, and Samaria, and with reinforced forces and heightened alertness at all borders", IDF writes in a statement on Telegram, which continues:
"We are fighting, and we know that this weekend is not complete without those who have been taken hostage. We are doing everything in our power to bring them home".
A short while earlier, IDF had announced that eight Israeli soldiers had been killed in Lebanon. In a brief speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences to the families of the fallen.
We are in the midst of a tough war against the Iranian axis of evil, which is trying to destroy us. This will not happen, we stand united and with God's help, we will emerge victorious together, he said.
Attack in Syria
The Shia militia Hezbollah claimed to have repelled several Israeli attempts to cross the border and to have destroyed three Israeli tanks in a village in southern Lebanon during the afternoon.
Israel, on its part, has announced that additional forces will be sent there – including an armored brigade with tanks. IDF has also called for the evacuation of an additional 20 communities and cities in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, reports from Syria indicate an Israeli targeted attack that, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, killed at least two people.
During the night, Israel carried out extensive airstrikes against Hezbollah-linked "terror targets" in Beirut, according to Israeli sources.
Over 1,000 killed
Early on Tuesday, Israel announced that there would be a further escalation in the form of a ground invasion of Lebanon, where soldiers sent to the northern border were said to be conducting "limited raids".
Israel justifies its attacks on the neighboring country's border areas by saying that evacuated citizens should be able to return to their homes in northern Israel – and that Hezbollah should not be able to carry out an attack on Israel similar to Hamas' terrorist attack on October 7 last year.
On Tuesday, it was reported that 55 people had been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the past two weeks' escalation of the conflict, according to Lebanese authorities.
