JERUSALEM

The Israeli army said Tuesday it began "limited and targeted" ground operations in southern Lebanon as Hezbollah said it attacked Israeli soldiers in the border area.

A military statement said the army’s 98th Division and 7th Brigade "have been preparing for limited, localized and targeted operations in southern Lebanon over the past weeks."

The statement said the 98th Division has operated for months in Gaza in the course of its devastating onslaught there, adding that such participation in Gaza gave it "operational experience."

Despite the Israeli army announcement, there has been no sign of an Israeli ground invasion into the Lebanese territories.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it targeted the movement of Israeli soldiers in sites and settlements near the borders with Lebanon.

In a statement, the group said its artillery units targeted deployments of Israeli soldiers in the Metula military site and Shtula settlement.

The Israeli army early Tuesday shelled several southern Lebanese towns, along with more airstrikes on areas across Lebanon including Beirut.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 1,057 people and injuring over 2,950 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Several Hezbollah leaders 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 Ahmed Asmar in Ankara