ISTANBUL

Israel plans to seize the area south of the Litani River and dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, significantly expanding its ground operation in Lebanon, Axios reported Saturday, citing Israeli and US officials.

The report said it could be Israel’s largest ground invasion of Lebanon since 2006, potentially drawing the country further into 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 said Hezbollah uses to store weapons and launch attacks.

An operation of that scale could lead to a prolonged Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, the outlet said, adding that Beirut is alarmed that Hezbollah’s rocket attacks could devastate the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government sought to contain the escalation to stay focused on Iran until Wednesday, when Hezbollah launched more than 200 missiles in coordination with Iran, said the Israeli official.

“Before this attack, we were ready for a ceasefire in Lebanon, but after it, there is no way back from a massive operation,” one senior Israeli official said.

The Israeli military has maintained armored and infantry divisions on the Lebanese border since the start of the Iran war and has conducted limited incursions in recent weeks. On Friday, it announced reinforcements and the mobilization of additional reserves ahead of the expanded operation.

“The goal is to take over territory, push Hezbollah’s forces north and away from the border, and dismantle its military positions and weapons depots in the villages,” an official said.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Friday that diplomatic efforts failed to protect Lebanese civilians and achieve sovereignty. “When the enemy threatens a ground invasion, we tell him: this is not a threat, but one of the traps you will fall into,” he said.

The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders across southern Lebanon and, for the first time, to towns north of the Litani River and Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold. Around 800,000 Lebanese have been displaced and at least 773 have been killed, many civilians.

According to a US official, the Trump administration asked Israel not to bomb Beirut’s airport or other state infrastructure on which Israel agreed, but said other targets would be assessed case by case.

“We feel we have full US backing for this operation,” the official told Axios.

The source said the Trump administration hopes the negotiations, indicated by the Lebanese government, could form the basis for a broader deal formally ending the state of war between Israel and Lebanon, which has been ongoing since 1948.