Israel planning massive ground invasion of Lebanon

Israel is planning to significantly expand its ground operation in Lebanon, aiming to seize the entire area south of the Litani River and dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure, Israeli and US officials say, Report informs via Axios.

This could be the largest Israeli ground invasion of its northern neighbor since 2006, dragging Lebanon to the epicenter of the escalating war with Iran.

"We are going to do what we did in Gaza," a senior Israeli official said, referring to the flattening of buildings Israel says Hezbollah uses to store weapons and launch attacks.

An operation of this size and scale could lead to a prolonged Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's government is deeply alarmed that the renewed war - triggered by Hezbollah's decision to launch rockets at Israel - will devastate the country.

The Trump administration backs a major Israeli operation to disarm Hezbollah, but is also pressing to limit the damage to the Lebanese state and pushing for direct Israel-Lebanon talks on a postwar agreement.