ANKARA

Japan expressed "serious concern" Tuesday over the start of an Israeli ground operation in Lebanon and called for an immediate cease-fire, local media reported.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also urged maximum restraint to prevent a further escalation of the conflict, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

He added that all measures must be taken to prevent civilian casualties and asked the relevant parties to pursue a diplomatic solution.

According to Hayashi, Tokyo is also making efforts to ensure the safety of the roughly 50 Japanese nationals in Lebanon.

The Israeli army announced early Tuesday that it launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon.

A military statement said that “in accordance with the decision of the political echelon, a few hours ago, the IDF (army) began limited, localized and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon.”

“These targets are located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel,” the statement added.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 960 people and injuring over 2,770 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several leaders of the Lebanese Hezbollah group have been killed in the assault, including Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid