Israel Begins Limited Ground Invasion Of Lebanon

It just keeps escalating. The only "good" thing that can be said here is its possible fewer civilians will be killed. Troops can be more discriminate in selecting their targets than can bomber aircraft. But you never know.

Israeli troops conducted a limited ground assault across the Lebanese border to carry out "pinpoint" raids against Hezbollah outposts, a military source said, as hundreds of foreigners fled and the UN warned civilians left behind faced a humanitarian "catastrophe."

"Our forces have been operating since this morning over our border with Lebanon. These are limited and pinpointed actions aimed at eliminating the threat of Hezbollah near the border," an Israeli military source said.

"The forces are penetrating into Lebanon and pulling out when their mission is accomplished... We're not talking about any large-scale incursion," the source added.

"The situation is both alarming and catastrophic. There are about 500,000 people displaced already. The situation is extreme," the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Beirut, Roberto Laurenti, told AFP.

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