Army chief of staff threatens further ‘offensive measures’ inside Lebanon BEIRUT: Escalating hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in recent days have raised fears of a wider conflict, with a senior Israeli army official warning that his forces are preparing to take “offensive steps” inside Lebanon Israeli media reported on Saturday that several rockets fell in the Meron area in the north of the country. Hezbollah also targeted a strategic military base near Safed, according to reports. Signs of military escalation emerged on Friday as the Israeli army used concussion missiles in intensive raids centered on an area south of the Litani River. Israel is demanding Hezbollah halt its military action in the area, particularly the launching of rockets, so that settlers in the north can return to their homes. FASTFACT Hezbollah has exchanged near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said that Israel had conveyed a message throuh intermediaries “that it is not interested in a ceasefire in Lebanon, even after reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.” On Saturday, Israeli army Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said that his forces are preparing to take “offensive steps inside Lebanon.” During an inspection tour in the Golan Heights, Halevi said the Israeli army is focused on confronting Hezbollah, and that a significant number of militants had been killed in attacks during the past month. The Israeli army was “working to reduce threats to residents of the northern region and the Golan Heights, while also preparing for an offensive at a later stage,” he said. Israeli media confirmed that several rockets fell in the Meron area after sirens sounded in the city of Safed. The Israeli army said that it “detected the launch of 30 shells from Lebanese territory toward the north.” Israeli mortar shells and incendiary flares struck the Labouneh area in the western sector, causing fires on the Khiam plain for the second consecutive day. Israeli media reported that a building in Shlomi was hit, and a fire broke out in Liman in Western Galilee after eight rockets were fired in a single salvo from southern Lebanon. On Saturday, Israeli airstrikes were directed at areas around the towns of Qabrikha and Bani Hayyan, and the Kunin forests. Israeli surveillance aircraft maintained a continuous presence over the western and central sectors of the south. Hezbollah said in a statement that it retaliated against Israeli attacks on Friday by targeting a command post occupied by forces from the Golani Brigade with volleys of Katyusha rockets. The group also targeted other Israeli military sites, including Hadab Yaron and Al-Raheb, with artillery fire. Hezbollah said it targeted a deployment of Israeli soldiers around the settlement of Manot with rockets in response to attacks on the town of Kunin. The Israeli air force said that raids on southern border villages on Friday night targeted rocket launch sites in towns including Beit Lif, Aitaroun, Dahra and Kfar Kila. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said that more than 15 missile platforms had been hit, in addition to several platforms that were ready for immediate launch. Adraee said that “after targeting the platforms, several of which were prepared for immediate launch toward Israeli territory, multiple shells were seen being fired from the platforms and landing within Lebanese territory.”