Israel sends troops into southern Lebanon as Hezbollah says it is ready for ‘open war’

Israel sends troops into southern Lebanon as Hezbollah says it is ready for ‘open war’ 1 of 11 | The Israeli military said on Tuesday soldiers were “operating in southern Lebanon’ as it continues strikes against Hezbollah. 2 of 11 | Israeli airstrikes continued to hit the Lebanese capital Tuesday morning. In footage captured by The Associated Press, explosions and smoke plumes were seen rising over the city’s skyline. 3 of 11 | A commercial airplane was seen taking off amid smoke and explosions after Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese capital Tuesday morning. (AP video: Hussein Al-Sanea) 4 of 11 | The Israeli military struck a building housing Al-Manar channel studios in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an evacuation warning, the channel said. (AP Video: Zakaria al-Khatib) 5 of 11 | Lebanon is seeing civilians fleeing their homes in the south as Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs after Hezbollah stepped into the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. (AP video: Malak Harb and Fadi Tawil) 6 of 11 | Israel’s military on Monday said it had carried out a “targeted attack” on senior members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon. The airstrike in the Lebanese capital heavily damaged a building, with reports suggesting it occurred near the old compound of the Iranian embassy in Beir Hassan neighborhood. (AP Video: Fadi Tawil) 7 of 11 | Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) 8 of 11 | A firefighter extinguishes a burned shop at a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) 9 of 11 | Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) 10 of 11 | Firefighters inspect the rubble as smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) 11 of 11 | A Syrian man carries a child as they cross the Syrian-Lebanese border into Syria, fleeing Lebanon due to Israeli airstrikes, in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed) 1 of 11 The Israeli military said on Tuesday soldiers were “operating in southern Lebanon’ as it continues strikes against Hezbollah. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 11 Israeli airstrikes continued to hit the Lebanese capital Tuesday morning. In footage captured by The Associated Press, explosions and smoke plumes were seen rising over the city’s skyline. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 11 A commercial airplane was seen taking off amid smoke and explosions after Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese capital Tuesday morning. (AP video: Hussein Al-Sanea) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 11 The Israeli military struck a building housing Al-Manar channel studios in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an evacuation warning, the channel said. (AP Video: Zakaria al-Khatib) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 11 Lebanon is seeing civilians fleeing their homes in the south as Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs after Hezbollah stepped into the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. (AP video: Malak Harb and Fadi Tawil) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 11 Israel’s military on Monday said it had carried out a “targeted attack” on senior members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon. The airstrike in the Lebanese capital heavily damaged a building, with reports suggesting it occurred near the old compound of the Iranian embassy in Beir Hassan neighborhood. (AP Video: Fadi Tawil) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 7 of 11 Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 8 of 11 A firefighter extinguishes a burned shop at a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 9 of 11 Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 10 of 11 Firefighters inspect the rubble as smoke rises from a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 11 of 11 A Syrian man carries a child as they cross the Syrian-Lebanese border into Syria, fleeing Lebanon due to Israeli airstrikes, in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Beirut (AP) — Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday and warned residents of more than 80 villages to evacuate as the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group said it was ready for an “open war” with Israel in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.The development came after Hezbollah fired rockets and launched drones early Monday toward northern Israel. Israel retaliated with a wave of airstrikes that killed 40 people in Lebanon, including seven children as well as a Palestinian militant and a Hezbollah intelligence official in Beirut’s southern suburbs. That death toll is a revised figure from an earlier one reported by the Health Ministry, which said Monday that 52 people died in the strikes. Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told reporters on Tuesday that 40 died. Lebanon also said 246 people were wounded and that tens of thousands were displaced.The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that 30,000 displaced people were staying in collective shelters in Lebanon, “while many others slept in their cars, on sides of the roads as they could not yet find safe shelter.” Hezbollah says it has no option but to fight IsraelHezbollah fired two salvos of rockets toward northern Israel, the militant group said while Israeli airstrikes overnight damaged a building housing Hezbollah’s television and radio stations. Beirut’s southern suburbs also saw a series of strikes on Tuesday afternoon that came without warning. The Israeli military later said it targeted Hezbollah officials.The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, warned residents of more than 80 villages and towns in southern Lebanon to leave, adding that people should not return to these areas until further notice.A senior Hezbollah official said that after more than a year of abiding by a ceasefire as Israel’s strikes continued on Lebanon, the group’s patience has ended, leaving it with no option but to fight Israel. “The Zionist enemy wanted an open war, which it has not stopped since the ceasefire agreement,” Mohamoud Komati said. “So let it be an open war,” added the Hezbollah official. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States, France and Egypt on Tuesday that Hezbollah has been firing rockets from areas north of the Litani River. That’s outside an area south of the river and along the border with Israel, where Lebanese troops have earlier said they are in full control. More Israeli troops enter LebanonThe Israeli military said Tuesday it sent additional troops into southern Lebanon and took new positions on several strategic points close to the border. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its positions along the border.Adraee, the Israeli spokesman, said on X that the troops’ movements inside Lebanon are meant to bolster Israel’s forward defense system and create an addition layer of security.Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the Lebanese army was evacuating some of its border positions.A Lebanese military official confirmed to The Associated Press that Israeli troops had moved into several areas in southern Lebanon on Tuesday and that the Lebanese army was “repositioning” in the area. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements. The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, later Tuesday said its peacekeepers saw Israeli troops making forays across the border and then returning to Israel. Israel’s army said its troops are still operating in Lebanon, but it wasn’t clear how many soldiers remained inside Lebanon.Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. After months of low-level fighting, a full-scale war erupted in September 2024 and Israel later launched a ground invasion of Lebanon. Israeli forces withdrew from most of southern Lebanon after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the fighting in November 2024 but continued to occupy five points on the Lebanese side of the border. Israel also continued with near-daily strikes, primarily in southern Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its positions there.Lebanon’s Health Ministry also said Tuesday that 397 people had been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect and before Hezbollah launched its latest attacks. Syrians flee across the borderThousands of Syrians living in Lebanon crossed back into Syria, fleeing Israeli strikes over the past two days.UNHCR said the number of people crossing from Lebanon into Syria jumped on Monday to 10,629 from typically between 3,900 and 4,400 a day since the holy Islamic month of Ramadan began in February. The vast majority were Syrian, but a small number of Lebanese citizens also crossed.Azzam Sweiri, a Syrian farm laborer working in southern Lebanon, said he saw streets “packed with cars and people” as he fled the bombardment. “It took us 10 or 12 hours just to make it 30 or 40 kilometers,” he said after crossing in to Syria Tuesday, adding that after he left, he heard that the house next to the one where he lived was hit by an Israeli airstrike.___Associated Press journalists Ghaith AlSayed and Omar Sanadiki in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, contributed to this report. Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories.