1 Oct 2024

Middle East correspondent on Israel's planned incursion of Lebanon

From Nine To Noon, 9:35 am on 1 October 2024
A smoke plume erupts after an Israeli airstrike targeted the outskirts of the village of Ibl al-Saqi in southern Lebanon on September 30, 2024. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Photo: RABIH DAHER/AFP

There's mounting evidence that Israel may be about to launch a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Tanks have been massing on Israel's northern border and three areas there have been declared closed military zones.

Earlier the Israeli defence minister Yoav Galant said the next phase of the war against the group would begin soon.

In Lebanon, officials say more than a thousand people have been killed in the past two weeks, while up to a million may now be displaced.

Seb Usher is the BBC's Middle East correspondent.

Get the RNZ app

for easy access to all your favourite programmes

Subscribe to Nine To Noon

Podcast (MP3) Oggcast (Vorbis)