The ground is shifting. We are watching Israel prepare to launch a land

invasion of southern Lebanon. This is a major shift in Israel's conflict with this below.

Shane Harris covers intelligence and national security for the post.

He's been speaking to his intelligence and government sources both in Washington and abroad about this unfolding

conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. This was a very consequential past few days in Lebanon,

starting with an Israeli air strike that killed a man named Hassan Nasrala, who is the head of Hezbollah,

which is the dominant military and political force in Lebanon,

a long-time adversary of Israel, a group that's been designated by the U.S.

and other countries as a terrorist organization.

Nisrala is a major, major figure in the Middle East and Israel's airstrike that killed him along with we believe a

number of other senior Hezbollah leaders then kicked off an increased tempo in military operations in Lebanon that are kind of

crescendoing as we talk right now. Tensions on Israel's northern border have

been building for months with Israel and Hezbollah trading fire.

But in recent weeks Israel has been ratcheting up its attacks on what it says are Hezbollah

targets. The impact inside Lebanon has been devastating.

Across Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, some camping out on

streets, others seeking refuge in a parking lot.

The other explosions that were heard across the Capitol, they were loud explosions.

The people of the Capitol were really in shock.

There was a lot of fear. The death toll has now surpassed 1,000

people according to Lebanon's health ministry. The agency doesn't distinguish between combatant and

civilian deaths but said more than 80 children are among the dead. Entire

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