The head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk approved Lebanon battle plans on Tuesday, the military said, following a recent intensification of cross-border fighting with Hezbollah.

In a statement, the IDF said the generals held an assessment, during which “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved.”

The top commanders also made decisions regarding “accelerating the readiness of the forces on the ground,” the military added.

The announcement came amid repeated attacks by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian terror groups in Lebanon on northern Israel, with fears of a wider conflict.

Israel has warned it can no longer tolerate Hezbollah’s presence along its border following the October 7 atrocities, and has warned that should a diplomatic solution not be reached, it will turn to military action to push Hezbollah northward.

Meanwhile, the military said Tuesday night that Israeli air defenses shot down a suspected drone over the sea just off the coast of Gesher HaZiv in northern Israel, close to Lebanon.

No sirens sounded “according to protocol,” according to the army.

The IDF also said fighter jets struck several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including infrastructure in Taybeh, Odaisseh, and Jebbayn, and a building in Ayta ash-Shab.