​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

The UN is worried about "increased rhetoric," a spokesman said Tuesday, after Israel said it plans to control large parts of southern Lebanon.

"This is part of the increased rhetoric that is very much concerning to us. This is the last thing we would want to see. This is the last thing the Lebanese people in the South would want to see," Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

Earlier, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee issued immediate evacuation orders for residents in several neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, as Tel Aviv continued its military offensive against the Arab country.

Adraee claimed the Israeli army will operate in the areas, citing what he called Hezbollah activities in the neighborhoods.

"What we need is for Israel, for Hezbollah and all other parties to fully implement Security Council Resolution 1701," Dujarric said, stressing that there is "no military solution" to this conflict.

When asked about Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who claimed Monday that the Litani River should be Israel’s new border with Lebanon, Dujarric reiterated that the UN is worried about the "increased rhetoric that we're seeing."

"We worry about the continuing military activity that we're seeing. The territorial integrity of Lebanon needs to be respected. The government of Lebanon needs to be respected, and the government's authority to have monopoly on the use of force and the use of arms throughout its country needs to be respected. We don't need more fighting. We don't need more rhetoric," he added.

Dujarric said already more than 1 million people are on the move in Lebanon.

"There needs to be a return to negotiations, and there needs to be a return to the full implementation of Security Council 1701," he added.