Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service coming to you live from

London I'm Julian Worica. It seems ever more likely that an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon will happen, possibly within the coming hours.

A US official has said the Israelis have told the US there are plans to launch a limited ground incursion and it could be as soon as today.

The US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel had already informed Washington

about its planned ground operations.

He was speaking to reporters at the State Department.

They have been informing us about a number of operations.

I know I've seen reports about ground operations.

We've had some conversations with them about that.

They have at this time told us that those are limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border but

we're in continuous conversations with them about it.

Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Kossam says it's ready for an Israeli ground offensive

if it happens it's the first speech by a high-ranking official from

the organization since the Israelis killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Meanwhile Israeli airstrikes have continued in Beirut and elsewhere targeting Hezbollah which is designated as a terrorist

organization by Western states Israel and Gulf Arab states but also targeting Hamas and the

huthies in Yemen.

Meanwhile the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a wider warning about

his country's military capabilities in the region.

He did so in a video released earlier which was aimed specifically at the

Iranian people.

Every day you see a regime that subjugates you make fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza.

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