Israeli army approves plans for military offensive in Lebanon

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel's military said Tuesday that it approved plans for an offensive in Lebanon as tensions rise with the Hezbollah group.

A military statement said the head of Israel's Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and chief of its Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk approved plans for the attack in a development that comes after months of cross-border attacks between the two sides.

According to the statement, the two generals assessed and approved the “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon.”

They also made decisions on “accelerating the readiness of the forces on the ground,” it added.

This comes hours after Hezbollah published a video of what it said was footage gathered by one of its reconnaissance drones of military locations in northern Israel.

The nine-minute video showed several locations of military contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, air defense sites, Iron Dome batteries and David’s Sling military systems.

It also listed the docks and airports of the city of Haifa, along with a naval base, submarine pier and the Israeli Sa'ar 4.5 and 5-class missile boats.

Tensions have risen along Lebanon's border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv pressed ahead with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 37,300 people since last October following an attack by Palestinian group Hamas.