Israel shifted some of its focus from Hamas to Hezbollah, which holds much of the power in parts of southern Lebanon and some other areas of the country.

Israel has pummeled Lebanon with an unprecedented airstrike campaign over the last two weeks, killing over 1,400 people, injuring nearly 7,500 others and displacing more than one million people from their homes,

Israel is not expected to launch a preemptive strike, according to the U.S. administration official. It should take the missiles less than 15 minutes to reach targets once launched. The U.S. and Israel have all defenses activated, and Israel will “absolutely “ retaliate after it happens," the official said.

At least 70 Lebanese towns are under Israeli evacuation orders, as a ground offensive against Hezbollah appears to broaden.

Israel's military told residents of more than 20 towns in south Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately on Thursday as it pressed on with its cross-border incursion and struck Hezbollah targets in a suburb of Beirut.

Israel Defense Forces continue ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon while carrying out strikes in Gaza