Israel Updates The United States On Limited Land Attacks On South Lebanon

The Israeli military in the northern border region with Lebanon. (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - Israel notified the United States of the limited land operations they were carrying out focused on Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon near the border with Israel, the US State Department said.

"This is what they have informed us that they are currently carrying out limited operations targeting Hezbollah's infrastructure near the border," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Asked to confirm that it was a limited land operation, he said: "That's our understanding."

As previously reported, the Israeli military said its army forces had started limited, localized and targeted attacks against Hezbollah in the southern Lebanese border region.

In a statement they said the target was located in villages near the border and posed a direct threat to people in northern Israel.

The Israeli air force and artillery support ground forces with targeted attacks on military targets, the statement said.

"The operation was approved and implemented in accordance with the decisions of the state's political authorities," he said.

In the announcement of the targeted ground attack in southern Lebanon, Israel said operations codenamed the 'Operation Northern Arrows', would continue in accordance with its assessment of the situation and "in line with fighting in Gaza and in other arenas."

The Israeli military said it was operating under "a methodical plan set by the General Staff and Northern Command that IDF soldiers had trained and prepared in recent months."

"IDF continues to operate to achieve war goals and do everything necessary to defend Israelis and return northern Israelis to their homes," he said.

Earlier Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday told the head of the local council in northern Israel the next phase of the war along the southern Lebanese border would soon begin, and would support the goal of bringing home Israelis who had fled the Hezbollah rocket for nearly a year of border warfare.

On the same day, Lebanese militant group deputy leader Hezbollah Naim Qassem said Israel would not succeed in achieving its goals, ensuring the group was ready to face a land invasion of Lebanon.

"We will face any possibility, we are ready if Israel decides to enter by land and resistance forces are ready for ground fighting," he said, Hezbollah's official's first speech after last week's Israeli attack that killed the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon.

Qassem said Hezbollah would continue to follow in the footsteps of Nasrallah. He said they would continue their operations, working according to the plan that had been prepared.