ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - An Israeli security official said on Friday that they would carry out a ground operation against Lebanese Hezbollah as soon as possible.

 

“We will try to do it as short as we can,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, according to AFP. “I think that we are preparing that every day.”

 

The Israeli military official reiterated that the ground offensive into Lebanon territory is “inside our toolbox.”

 

The Israeli official’s comments came as Israel and Hezbollah intensified the cross-border daily exchanges of fire, after the international community, notably the US, failed to bring clashes to a halt.

 

At least 700 people have been reported killed in Israel’s airstrikes this week.

 

 

The UN on Friday decried the escalation in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon as “catastrophic”.

 

“The recent escalations in Lebanon are nothing short of catastrophic,” said Imran Riza, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon.

 

Riza went on to say that they were “witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning.”

 

Nearly a year into the war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel has shifted its focus to attacking Lebanon since Monday, pummeling the country and engaging in daily cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, aggravated by a massive cyberattack involving communication devices last week.

 

Avenging the killing of its leaders and the striking of its members and positions, Hezbollah has been firing multiple rocket barrages into northern Israel on a daily basis, targeting the Israeli army and sending scores of local residents into bomb shelters.

 

In what has been called “the bloodiest day in Lebanon in a generation,” Israel launched a widespread aerial offensive on southern Lebanon on Monday, killing over 550 people and wounding nearly 2,000 others on a single day.

 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said that over 90,000 people from southern and eastern Lebanon have been displaced to the northwest since Monday.

 

Despite calls for a ceasefire by the US and Europe, Israel announced on Thursday that there will be no room for negotiations on an armistice until “final victory” is achieved. 

 

The international community has on multiple occasions over the past few days warned that an all-out war must be avoided, but to no avail.