On September 28, Israeli military tanks gather at the Israel-Lebanon border.

This week's ground attack in southern Lebanon is the latest chapter in the long history of Israeli troops being deployed into the territory of its northern neighbor.

Here is a timeline of Israel's previous invasions of Lebanon, one of which lasted years:

1978: According to the IDF, Israel sent troops across the border for the first time after members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Lebanon entered Israel by sea and took control of a civilian bus, killing dozens of Israelis.

In response, Israel occupied most of the southern part of the country, although Lebanon claimed it had nothing to do with the bus attack. This eventually led to the creation of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), whose task was to ensure Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon.

1982: The longest Israeli invasion of Lebanon began in June 1982. Similar to statements made this week, Israel said the invasion would be short, limited and with the mission of destroying the PLO.

However, this led to years of occupation of southern Lebanon and Israeli troops plunged into a protracted and increasingly unpopular war.

Israeli forces initially captured almost half of Lebanon's territory, including West Beirut. According to contemporary reports, the operation resulted in more than 17,000 deaths and an Israeli investigation into a massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila.

This investigation indirectly blamed Israel for the massacre carried out by right-wing Christian Lebanese fighters allied with Israel. Israeli troops then withdrew from West Beirut, but continued to occupy southern Lebanon until 2000. This conflict ultimately gave rise to Hezbollah.

2006: In 2006, Hezbollah fighters entered Israel in a surprise attack, killing eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two others to effect a prisoner swap.

Israel responded with a massive air operation, followed by a wide-ranging ground offensive that ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire.

According to Human Rights Watch, about 1,200 people, including hundreds of children, died in Lebanon's months-long war. According to the Israeli military, 49 Israeli civilians and 121 IDF soldiers were killed.

A UN commission found that the IDF used “excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate” force against civilians.