Israeli ground operations, which began reportedly in limited form late Monday, had attacked Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, US and other officials said. Focused strikes on the Hezbollah infrastructure near the border have mounted amid soaring tensions and intensive cross-border shelling.

The death toll is more than 1,000 in two weeks, with over 6,000 wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed, after the relentless pounding of southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut by constant Israeli airstrikes.

Limited ground operations come as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that the “next phase of the war against Hezbollah” will occur soon. While clashes continue between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, whose rockets have hit several locations in Lebanon, including residential areas in Beirut, heavy shelling has been reported along the border, with Marjayoun and Wazzani reportedly on the receiving end of the artillery.

Hezbollah declared it had killed casualties among the Israeli soldiers in the border towns of Odaisseh and Kafr Kila in Lebanon. The Israeli military, meanwhile, claimed a number of northern Israeli areas as closed military zones and continues to raise the heat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued yet another dire warning to Iran, this time hinting that Israel may target every point in the Middle East, thus upping fears over wider regional conflict. In a video message, Netanyahu warned there was nowhere in the Middle East where Israel could not reach, therefore underscoring the Israeli resolve to neutralize perceived threats from Hezbollah and its allies.

Although US President Joe Biden urged restraint and called for a ceasefire, knowing that Israel was going to escalate military operations in Lebanon, Israel won’t retreat and continued conducting airstrikes and ground operations.

Most of the situation remains worsening in Lebanon, with more than 1 million people displaced by conflict. Shelling has locked in the towns of the country like Marjayoun, where residents have been unable to escape due to Israeli strikes that made vital roads impassable.

This has invoked sharp international concern and has been joined by France and the U.S. in a call to effect a ceasefire immediately. However, the Israeli leadership remains bent on its military objectives, in turn rebuffing what officials describe as security measures in place.

As the ground operation continues and aerial bombardment escalates over southern Lebanon, prospects for a long-protracted confrontation seem to be mounting. For their part, analysts have begun to worry that this might inadvertently end up with Israel stationed in southern Lebanon for an extended period without an apparent way out.

This might be one of the most intense escalations seen in this region since the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, with the humanitarian situation growing more and more deadly by the minute, coupled with its rising death toll. The rest of the world will be waiting to see if the present diplomatic efforts nip the violence in the bud before things get further spun out of control.