Israeli defense minister says next stage of war against Hezbollah will begin 'soon'

JERUSALEM

Amid more reports signaling a possible ground offensive in southern Lebanon amid Israel’s massive bombardment and following last week’s assassination of the group’s leader, Israel’s defense minister said Monday the next stage of fighting against Lebanese Hezbollah group will "begin soon."

According to the news website Ynet, Yoav Gallant claimed that the next stage "will be a significant factor in changing the security situation," and will allow return of Israelis displaced from settlements in northern Israel, an area bordering Lebanon that has Hezbollah has targeted.

"We will do what it takes to change the situation and bring the residents back home," Ynet quoted Gallant as saying.

Several Israeli media reports emerged of a possible ground operation in southern Lebanon amid massive airstrikes across the country which last week killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader.

Naim Qassem, the group’s deputy secretary-general, said on Monday that the group will elect a new leader “as soon as possible.”

“The battle is long, the options are open, and we will confront any Israeli ground invasion into Lebanon,” he said.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 960 people and injuring over 2,770 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several Hezbollah leaders have been killed in the assault.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar