(CNN) Israeli troops are intensifying their push in southern Lebanon, the military announced Tuesday, seizing more positions on the ground as Israel escalates its offensive against the militant group Hezbollah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has held five positions in southern Lebanon for months now, using them as a means of observing the border area between the two countries. Now, as Israel intsensifies its strikes against what it sees as Hezbollah targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon, the IDF has occupied more positions, calling it an “enhanced forward defense posture.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “authorized the IDF to advance and take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon in order to prevent attacks on Israeli border communities.”
In a press briefing Tuesday morning, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani stressed that the move is not the beginning of a major ground invasion into Lebanon.