Israel’s army firing with tanks inside Lebanon. —AFP/File
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military will expand its ground operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, its army chief said Sunday, warning that the offensive against the group was still in its early stages.
“The operation against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation has only begun… This is a prolonged operation,” Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a statement.
“We are now preparing to advance the targeted ground operations and strikes according to an organised plan,” he added.
Zamir’s comments came as Israel struck more targets in south Lebanon on Sunday, including a key bridge, triggering a warning from the Lebanese president that it could be launching a full ground invasion.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Israeli-US strike.
“In recent weeks, we have achieved significant accomplishments: we have struck more than 2,000 targets, dozens of weapons storage facilities, and struck and eliminated hundreds of terrorists,” Zamir said.
“We will not stop until the threat is pushed away from the border and long term security is ensured for the residents of northern Israel,” Zamir said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it was investigating whether its own fire killed an Israeli civilian near the Lebanese border on Sunday, after Hezbollah claimed an attack in the same area.
Israeli emergency workers said earlier Sunday that a man was killed in a “direct hit” on his car by a rocket from Lebanon.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said after the incident that its fighters had attacked Israeli soldiers in the same area.
But the Israeli army later announced it was “conducting a comprehensive investigation” into the death.
“The possibility that the incident involved fire originating from IDF soldiers is being examined,” the military said in a statement.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Israeli-US attacks.
Israel has sent troops into Lebanon and carried out extensive airstrikes in the country, while Hezbollah continues to fire rocket barrages across the border.