‘Military boots will enter enemy territory’: IDF Chief warns Hezbollah as Israel rejects Lebanon ceasefire proposal

Israel has rejected Western efforts to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon and vowed to ramp up its attacks against Hezbollah. The appeal for a 21-day truce came hours after Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi asked soldiers to prepare for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah. 

“There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office added that he had "not even responded" to the truce proposal and ordered the military “to continue the fighting with full force”.

IDF chief Halevi also assured a “very strong response” to Hezbollah after the militant group fired a missile at central Israel on Thursday morning.

“You can hear the planes above, we are attacking all day. Both to prepare the area for the possibility of your entry [into Lebanon], and also to continue causing blows to Hezbollah. Hezbollah today expanded its [range] of fire. Later today, it will receive a very strong response. Today we will continue, we do not stop, we continue to attack and continue to strike them everywhere. The goal is a very clear goal, to return the [displaced] residents of the north safely. To do this, we are preparing the [ground] maneuver,” Halevi said.

The developments came even as Israeli fighter jets hit infrastructure on the Lebanese-Syrian border on Thursday, allegedly to stop the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah uses these means of warfare against the citizens of the State of Israel. The IDF will continue to strike and act against the Hezbollah terrorist organization's attempts to arm itself and transfer weapons into Lebanon from Syrian territory,” read an official statement.

(With inputs from agencies)