Israel preparing for possible ground assault in Lebanon, army chief says

Israel’s military chief told troops on Wednesday that air strikes in Lebanon would continue to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and to prepare the way for a possible ground operation by Israeli forces.

Even as he spoke, sources said the United States had started a diplomatic push to stop the fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon, and that proposals were being hammered out at the UN General Assembly in New York.

US President Joe Biden told ABC television that all-out war was possible, but added: “We’re still in play to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region.”

Israel on Wednesday widened its air strikes in Lebanon and shot down a missile that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement said it had aimed at the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency near Israel’s biggest city, Tel Aviv.

“You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day,” General Herzi Halevi told Israeli troops on the border with Lebanon, according to a statement from the military.