Israeli Channel 13 said that Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy had instructed to prepare plans for a possible ground operation in Lebanon. In the same context, the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is close to Hezbollah, reported that Israel had set a deadline of March 15 to reach a political settlement with Lebanon.
The Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed mutual bombardment since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Recently, threats have escalated from Israeli officials to expand attacks on Lebanese territory unless Hezbollah fighters withdraw to the south of the Litani River.