I'm Ikra.
This is What's in the World from the BBC World Service.
Alarms have sounded across the Middle East for well over a month now, as the US-Israel war with Iran continues.
In that time, we 've put up different episodes,
including hearing from Iranians, why the Strait of Hormuz is so important in this war,
and how the conflict first started.
But away from what's happening between Iran, the US and Israel, the war has spread across the Middle East too.
Soon after the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February, Hezbollah in Lebanon joined the war.
And ever since, Israel and Hezbollah have been firing at each other.
We'll have more on Hezbollah later.
They're an armed group who are supported by Iran.
In this episode, we 're going to explain why Israel has sent troops into Lebanon,
how this connects to the war in Iran, and what could happen next.
Before we get into it, I want to give you a bit of background on Lebanon.
Lebanon is a small country in the Middle East,
which shares borders with Syria and Israel, and a long coastline to the Mediterranean Sea.
The population is mostly made up of Shia and Sunni Muslims and Christians.
Lebanon also hosts many refugees like Syrians and Palestinians who fled to escape war and conflict in their countries.
And there's a group in Lebanon called Hezbollah, which is really important for this story.
It's a political party and an armed group.