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Israel could be preparing for a limited ground invasion of Lebanon, following its killing of dozens of Hezbollah leaders in recent days, ABC News has reported, citing US officials.

Israel has already rejected all calls for a ceasefire, reportedly ignoring calls from the Biden administration regarding this.

ABC News said that there were already small-scale ground operations against Hezbollah positions on the Lebanon-Israel border, citing two officials.

However, the officials added that no final decision had been made and that any ground operation which does happen is likely to be limited, with the objective being to allow around 60,000 Israelis who have been forced from their homes by Hezbollah rocket strikes to return.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon over the past week have killed over 700 people, and Israel has also killed more than 20 Hezbollah military and political leaders in the space of a few days, including the head of the organisation, Hassan Nasrallah.

Hundreds of thousands of people have also been displaced from their homes in south Lebanon.

However, Israeli officials claim that this will not be enough to allow Israel to achieve its stated war goal of returning Israelis to their homes in the north of the country.

A limited conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on October 8 last year, one day after Hamas’s surprise attack on southern Israel which sparked the current Gaza war.

However, Israel escalated its attacks on Lebanon this month, targeting Hezbollah operatives with exploding pagers which have killed and maimed civilians as well, and launching ferocious airstrikes last week.