The Israeli military has announced it was expanding its ground invasion in Lebanon, warning of a lengthy offensive, after Beirut condemned what it called Israel's flagrant violations of Lebanese sovereignty.
Israeli forces were ordered earlier Sunday to destroy bridges they said were used by Hezbollah to cross the Litani River, and Lebanese official media reported Israeli raids in the south.
"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.
In a separate statement on Sunday, military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said the expansion of the ground invasion would begin within the coming week.
'Prelude to ground invasion'
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had earlier warned that the bridge attacks "represent a dangerous escalation and flagrant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, and are considered a prelude to a ground invasion."
Israel's military said it "struck a crossing over the Litani River that was used by Hezbollah terrorists to manoeuvre from north to south of the Litani River in Lebanon".
According to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA), three strikes on the bridge near Tyre "caused extensive damage, rendering it unusable". It later reported a fourth strike occurred.
The NNA said the strikes caused "damage to the electricity networks, in addition to serious damage to shops, orchards and parks adjacent to the bridge".
Aoun said, "targeting bridges over the Litani River... is an attempt to sever the geographical link between the area south of the Litani and the rest of Lebanon's territory".
The NNA also reported that Israeli forces were "blowing up a number of houses in the town of Taybeh" near the border with Israel.
Earlier Sunday, Israel said rocket fire from Lebanon killed a civilian, but later announced it was investigating whether "the incident involved fire originating from IDF (Israel's army) soldiers".
