The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said elements of Israel’s 98th Division, including the commando, paratrooper and armoured brigades, have begun “targeted and specific activities in the South Lebanon area”, Al Jazeera reports.

The units had been preparing for the ground offensive into Lebanon for the past few weeks, Adraee said in a post on social media, which included a video clip of Israeli troops operating at night in apparent preparation for the incursion.