Israel army says readying 'decisive' push against Lebanon's Hezbollah

An Israeli military commander said Friday that troops in the country's north were preparing for "a decisive offensive" against Lebanon's Hezbollah after months of deadly cross-border exchanges.

Israeli forces have traded near-daily fire with Hamas ally Hezbollah since the Gaza war began on October 7.

Major General Ori Gordin, Israel's commanding officer in the north, told troops that "we have already eliminated more than 500 terrorists in Lebanon, the great majority of them from Hezbollah", an Israeli army statement said.

According to an AFP tally, more than nine months of fighting have killed at least 523 people in Lebanon.

Most of them, 342 people, have been confirmed to be Hezbollah fighters but the tally also includes 104 civilians. Gordin did not mention civilian casualties.

In northern Israel, at least 18 Israeli soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, according to the military.

The exchanges of fire have been largely restricted to the border areas and displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese as well as Israeli residents.

The Israeli military has "destroyed thousands" of targets across the border, Gordin said.

The statement said troops were now preparing "for the transition to offence".

"When the moment comes and we go on the offensive, it will be a decisive offensive," Gordin added.

Iran-backed Hezbollah says it is acting in solidarity with Gaza, where over 39,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in nine months of indiscriminate Israeli war. 

The escalating violence and unsuccessful mediation efforts have raised fears of all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which last went to war in 2006.

Israel has demanded that parts of southern Lebanon be cleared of Hezbollah militants in line with a UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war.