An Israeli military commander said on 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 Palestinian militant group’s Oct 7 attack on southern Israel started the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

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 army statement said.

The Israeli military has “destroyed thousands” of targets across the border, Maj-Gen 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,” Maj-Gen Gordin added.