Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), said Wednesday that the Israeli military was “preparing” for a potential ground offensive in Lebanon.
Halevi told a group of IDF soldiers that their “military boots will enter enemy territory” and said Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon are part of the preparations for a ground invasion.
“You can hear the planes above, we are attacking all day. Both to prepare the area for the possibility of your entry [into Lebanon], and also to continue causing blows to Hezbollah,” Halevi said, according to The Times of Israel.
Israeli airstrikes continued to pound Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 72 people and wounding 392, according to Lebanese Health Minister Dr. Firass Abiad. The latest violence brings the total number of people killed by Israel in Lebanon just this week to over 600. Abiad said the “overwhelming majority, if not all,” of the 558 people killed on Monday were civilians.
Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel in response and fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv on Wednesday, its deepest attack yet. Israel said it intercepted the missile, which Hezbollah said targeted the headquarters of the Mossad spy agency.
Halevi referenced the ballistic missile attack in his comments about a potential ground invasion of Lebanon. “Hezbollah today expanded its [range] of fire. Later today, it will receive a very strong response,” Halevi said.
“Today we will continue, we do not stop, we continue to attack and continue to strike them everywhere. The goal is a very clear goal, to return the [displaced] residents of the north safely. To do this, we are preparing the [ground] maneuver,” he added.
According to Israeli media reports, the US is in talks with Israel on a potential pause in attacks against Lebanon. Since October 7, 2023, US weapons shipments and other support for Israel have emboldened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to escalate in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region.