The Israeli army said units of the 36th Division and other forces were joining ground operations in Lebanon, but added that they would remain limited and local in scale, Reuters reported, BTA reported. According to the statement, both infantry and armored units are involved. Israel said yesterday that commandos and paratroopers had crossed the border but had not penetrated very far. It was the first public announcement of a ground operation in Lebanon.
Israel subsequently indicated that special forces had been carrying out operations against targets on the other side of the border for months, in which tunnels and weapons caches had been discovered.
The inclusion of infantry and armored units from the 36th Division, including the Golani Brigade, the 188th Armored Brigade and the Sixth Infantry Brigade, suggests that the operation is no longer limited to commando actions, Reuters notes.
The army said the ground operation was mainly aimed at destroying the tunnels and other infrastructure along the border, and added that there were no plans for a wider operation to cover Beirut or other major cities in Lebanon.
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