Israel informed Washington it is planning to carry out "limited operations" on the Lebanese border, according to the US government on Monday, amid fears a ground incursion was looming and as the international community called for de-escalation.
Israel said these were "limited operations" focused on "Hezbollah infrastructure near the border," said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who did not provide further details.
His comments came after some US media reported that Israel is planning a limited ground offensive in Lebanon that could begin in the coming hours.
US President Joe Biden did not directly confirm the reports during an exchange with journalists.
Asked whether he was aware of Israeli plans to launch a "limited operation" in Lebanon and whether he approved, Biden replied, "I'm more aware than you might know, and I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now."
The two countries appeared to be on the brink of war, after Israel launched a large-scale aerial campaign on targets across Lebanon last week, with the stated aim of pushing back Hezbollah to enable the return of tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern Israel.
But by late in the evening, Lebanese security sources said there were no Israeli tanks near the common border at least for the time being.
Israeli tanks have not approached the Blue Line, dpa learned from security sources in Lebanon.
However, there were reports of heavy aerial attacks by the Israeli military near the Litani River, which is about 30 kilometres north of the border. Israeli fighter jets were heard in southern Lebanon.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari warned people not to spread "irresponsible rumours" in a statement on social media platform X.
He said there were numerous reports and rumours about army activities on the Lebanese border and asked people not to spread reports about troop movements and to stick to official communications for security reasons.
Parts of northern Israel prohibited areas
The Israeli army designated several areas in northern Israel a closed military zone on Monday evening. These areas may not be entered, according to a military spokesperson for the Northern Command of the Israeli troops, referring to areas near Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi, close to the Lebanese border.
Earlier, an army spokesperson referred to exercises as part of troops' increased combat readiness.
That came as Israel's defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said the next phase of the fight against Hezbollah would begin soon.
Residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut were told to leave their homes by a spokesman for the Israeli army in a call issued late on Monday on social media.
Those living in buildings marked on a map distributed in these posts were located near Hezbollah facilities, the army said. The Israeli military will take forceful action against these facilities, the post said.
Residents within a 500-metre radius were called upon to leave their homes immediately for security reasons, the post said.
UN, EU call oppose incursion
The United Nations warned Israel against further escalation. "We do not want to see any sort of ground invasion," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary General António Guterres.
"We all know what devastation that all out war, ground war in Lebanon would bring to the people of Israel and the people of Lebanon," he said.
Almost 10,000 UN troops are stationed on the border between the two countries and in the south of Lebanon as part of the UN's UNIFIL mission.
They remain in position, but are restricted in their freedom of movement due to the ongoing shelling from both sides and are unable to carry out their work of monitoring the ceasefire that is actually in place, Dujarric said.
In Brussels, an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the worsening situation ended with an appeal for calm and for international humanitarian law to be upheld.
"Any further military intervention would dramatically aggravate the situation and has to be avoided," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
"The European Union renews its call for an immediate ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel," Borrell said.
Massive destruction in Beirut's southern suburbs
After days of Israeli bombardment, the area south of the Lebanese capital Beirut, where the leader of the Hezbollah militia, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an airstrike, has been reduced to a ghost town, according to a dpa reporter on site.
Tens of thousands of families have fled the country to escape the attacks – including from Dahiyeh, where the Israeli military is attacking targets of the Shiite militia.
A dpa reporter described "massive destruction" with debris from destroyed buildings everywhere while drones sound overhead.
Anger was palpable among locals who supported Nasrallah, who was killed on Friday. Men wearing black stood surrounded by rubble as they recited verses from the Quran. Many were downcast and unwilling to talk.
One woman listened to Quran verses and said she hoped Palestinians in the Gaza Strip knew that Nasrallah had died for their struggle.
At least 125 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks since Sunday morning, according to official figures.
Some 45 people were killed and 70 injured in attacks on Ain al-Dilb in the south of Beirut, officials said.
Hezbollah said on Monday that it had once again attacked an Israeli military base and the city of Safed in the north with missiles.
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