"We will be there to cooperate, to collaborate, to build a new Middle East," Israeli Consul General Ofir Akunis told Newsweek.

Israel’s military estimates that Hezbollah currently has between 11,000 and 13,000 missiles and rockets in its arsenal, a sharp reduction from what it was believed to possess just a few years ago, an Israeli military official told The Wall Street Journal.

Rather than evacuation, Israel’s defense minister said the mission now is “to protect northern communities against raids and anti-tank fire.”

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said negotiations with Israel under fire would amount to "surrender", as the Iran-backed group launched attacks and Israel said it was expanding a "buffer zone" inside

The Israeli military has launched a fresh wave of attacks against Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital Beirut, a spokesman said late on Friday, hours after a previous series of strikes. Israeli

Israel is now focused on “dismantling Hezbollah” as part of its wider campaign against Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, declaring that the military effort remains “in full swing” despite reports to the contrary.

Rather than trying to hold a defensive line, Hezbollah fighters have moved in to strike, then melted away in the hilly terrain they know well.