Israel’s military chief told troops to prepare for a possible ground offensive in Lebanon as heavy Israeli airstrikes continued for a third day and militants targeted the cities of Tel Aviv and Eilat.

The strikes on Lebanon, and the subsequent reduction in the military power of the Shiite militia group Hezbollah, have laid the foundation for a possible ground incursion, Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) chief of staff Herzi Halevi told troops on Wednesday.

“You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day,” the IDF chief said as he visited a troop exercise on the northern border, according to a military statement. “This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.” 

Earlier, Ori Gordin, the IDF commander for the north, said the army was mobilising two more reserve brigades for missions in the northern area and that troops must be ready for a ground manoeuvre.

“We have entered a new phase in the operation,” he said. Israel must “change the security situation, and we must be fully prepared for manoeuvres and actions.”

Israel’s goal is to return some 60,000 people displaced from their homes in the north due to the near-daily attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah.

“I would like to see a ceasefire and the return home of Israelis to the homes in the north and southern Lebanese, to their homes in southern Lebanon,” Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York later on Wednesday.

“That’s what we all want to achieve. It will happen either after a war or before a war. We hope it will be before,” Mr Danon said as he confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would arrive in the U.S. on Thursday.

The cross-border clashes have taken place for more than 11 months and have also displaced thousands of Lebanese from their homes.

Hezbollah sources said the militia fighters were “ready to confront any possible ground invasion.”

In New York, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said a proposal prepared with the U.S. for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon would be presented “very soon.”

“The situation in Lebanon today may reach the point of no return,” Mr Barrot said at a UN Security Council meeting. “We’re beyond escalation. War is not inevitable. A diplomatic solution is indeed possible. In recent days we have worked with our American partners on a temporary ceasefire platform of 21 days to allow for negotiations.” 

“We are counting on both parties to accept it without delay,” Mr Barrot said.

(NAN)