Israel launches ground invasion of Lebanon, dozens of top Iranian clerics killed in strike

The conflict in the Middle East continues to heighten with strikes from Israel on what Iran has called the 'Assembly of Experts,' a group of clerics who were to decide who would be the next Supreme Leader. In addition to this, Israel has launched a ground invasion of Southern Lebanon.The gathering of the Iranian 'Assembly of Experts' was meeting in the religiously important city of Qom, in central Iran, when an Israeli initiated a strike to, yet again, behead the leadership of Iran."The American-Zionist criminals attacked the Assembly of Experts building in Qom," a report from the Tasnim News Agency reads.The meeting, which is reported to have included 88 of Iran's most important clerics and religious officials, was meeting to decide who should become the new Supreme Leader of Iran after missile strikes killed the former Supreme Leader, or Ayatollah, Ali Hosseini Khamenei.No official figures have been released about the number of casualties or who was killed in the strike, but reports indicate that a significant portion of the assembly has been killed or wounded.The strike also reportedly happened while "they were counting the votes for the appointment of the supreme leader," a senior Israeli official told Fox News..In addition to these strikes, Israeli troops have reportedly entered Southern Lebanon in response to Iran-backed Hezbollah saying they are ready for "open war."This comes after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged missile and rocket strikes the days previous, with Hezbollah targeting the northern Israeli city of Haifa and Israel targeting the Lebanese capital of Beirut.Israeli strikes reportedly killed 40 people, including a Hezbollah intelligence official, according to Israeli reports.The Lebanese government has reported that Hezbollah alone is responsible for the attacks and that Lebanese troops are now "in full control" of the area between the river and the border.Despite this claim, Israel announced Tuesday that troops would be moving into Southern Lebanon to secure strategic positions and that Lebanese troops would be evacuating some positions along the border.The United Nations force in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that Israeli troops were observed crossing the border and then returning to Israel; it remains unclear if Israeli troops remain in Lebanon..Despite the claims of control from the Lebanese government, air and drone strikes are still being exchanged between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in the border regions. It still remains unclear if Israeli troops have been able to get a foothold in Southern Lebanon, but explosions have been reported from both sides of the border.

Israel launches ground invasion of Lebanon, dozens of top Iranian clerics killed in strike

Related Stories