The Israeli military’s top commander, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told troops Wednesday they were preparing for a ground invasion into Lebanon.
Halevi said during an exercise in northern Israel with the 7th Brigade that Israeli strikes in the past few days are meant to “prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.”
“Today, Hezbollah expanded its range of fire, and later today, they will receive a very strong response. Prepare yourselves,” he said, according to a video released by the Israeli military. “The goal is very clear — to safely return the residents of the north.”
“To achieve that, we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, your maneuvering boots, will enter enemy territory, enter villages that Hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts,” Halevi added.
The comments come as Israeli strikes targeted multiple Hezbollah targets, taking out rocket launch sites.
Hezbollah also fired a rocket for the first time at Tel Aviv overnight Wednesday and has continued launching a barrage of missiles toward Israel, which have largely been downed by air defense systems.
Israel has increasingly targeted the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in the past week, including a deadly round of strikes on Monday that killed more than 500 people and the detonation of pager and handheld radios last week that killed at least 37 and wounded thousands.
The Israeli attacks have taken out several top Hezbollah commanders, most recently a Beirut strike killing Ibrahim Muhammad Qabisi, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Missiles and Rockets Force, the Israeli military said Tuesday.
The United Nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and said more than 90,000 people have been displaced in the past three days.
Israeli officials have indicated there is a new phase in the north and set a war goal to return the about 60,000 displaced residents from the Lebanon border area.
Israeli Maj. Gen. Uri Gordin, head of the Israeli military’s Northern Command, said in remarks to the 7th Brigade on Tuesday that Israel has “entered a new phase of the campaign.”
“The operation began with a significant blow to Hezbollah’s capabilities, focusing on their firepower capabilities, and a very significant hit on the organization’s commanders and operatives,” he said. “Facing this, we need to change the security situation, and we must be fully prepared for maneuvers and action.”
Israel may be preparing for a larger war against Hezbollah after 11 months of cross-border fire with the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran because the Gaza war is wrapping up. Israel has largely defeated Palestinian militant group Hamas, even as fighting continues in the coastal strip, and that has freed up resources.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military called up two reserve brigades for what it said were operational missions in the north. An elite unit that played a key role in Gaza was also sent to the north roughly a week ago.
The U.S. is pushing for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, trying to avoid an Israeli invasion of Lebanon and a broader war.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday that a large war would not achieve Israel’s goals.
“If there were to be a full-scale war, that wouldn’t solve the problem. It wouldn’t get people back to their homes,” Blinken said.
But Halevi told Israeli troops that they “will show them what it means to face a professional, highly skilled, and battle-experienced force,” referring to Hezbollah.
“You are coming in much stronger and far more experienced than they are. You will go in, destroy the enemy there, and decisively destroy their infrastructure,” he said. “These are the things that will allow us to safely return the residents of the north afterward.”