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.
Israel has sent troops into Lebanon and carried out extensive airstrikes, while Hezbollah has launched rocket barrages.
"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.
