Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon early Tuesday, backed by air forces and artillery, following airstrikes on several Lebanese cities, including Beirut, in the last few days, marking the first ground invasion of Lebanon since 2006.

Israel's ground invasion into Lebanon follows its deadly detonation of booby-trapped Hezbollah pagers, two weeks of airstrikes, and its killing on Friday of Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah, which dealt the group one of the heaviest blows in decades, Reuters reported.