Israeli forces launch ground offensive in Lebanon as markets fear

Israel has launched a ground incursion into Lebanese territory, with markets on edge over the possibility of a serious escalation in the conflict between the Jewish state, the Hezbollah militant group — and Iran itself.

In a statement early on Tuesday, Israel’s Defense Forces said they had begun “limited, localized and targeted ground raids” against targets in southern Lebanon that they say pose an “immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.” The Israeli air and artillery forces are supporting the offensive, the IDF said.

A senior White House official, meanwhile, told NBC News on Tuesday that the U.S. has seen indications Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Any direct attack on Israel by Iran “will carry severe consequences for Iran,” the official said.

Oil prices moved sharply higher on Tuesday, with Brent crude futures with December expiry trading around $74.22 per barrel at 5 p.m. London time, up 3.45% on the previous settlement. The front-month November WTI contract was 3.7% higher at $70.72 per barrel.

Isreal’s ground incursion into Lebanon marks a shift in the Jewish state’s military attention away from the Gaza Strip, where it has been carrying out a retaliatory campaign in response to Oct. 7 terror attack carried out by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, meanwhile, have been trading cross-border fire since last year, when the Lebanese group declared solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

The Israeli offensive in Lebanon comes after the Jewish state assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27, rattling the group’s command structure, and follows a devastating bombing campaign that NBC News reports has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced 1 million people to date.

As recently as last week, Western allies were urging Israel to consider a 21-day cease-fire across the Lebanon-Israel border.

In a Google-translated social media post, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin and stressed that Israel’s latest operations “build on the ongoing measures taken to eliminate Hezbollah leadership and to degrade Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities.”

In comments carried by the Hezbollah-aligned Al Manar media outlet, the group’s officials denounced the Israeli airstrikes and called on the United Nations for relief supplies. Hezbollah said that claims that Israel had entered Lebanon are “false,” reporting no “direct ground clashes,” according to a Google-translated statement.