"Back to Lebanon's nightmares": headline of Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper 

The headline of the front page of the Lebanese newspaper affiliated with Hezbollah, Al-Akhbar read: "Israel invaded on the ground. Back to Lebanon's nightmares."

"All the rumors have nothing to do with the reality of what Israel intends to do. The Lebanese should expect a very difficult war," Arab sources were quoted as saying in the paper's main article: "Israel's next goal is to strike at what it calls 'Iran's weapons' in Syria, Iraq and Yemen."

The IDF Spokesperson reported Monday night that in accordance with the decision of the political echelon, IDF forces have begun a focused and delineated ground operation, accompanied by artillery and air force forces, against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in the area near the border in southern Lebanon.

According to the IDF's announcement, the ground operation began in a number of villages near the border from which there is an immediate and real threat to Israeli communities on the northern border: "The IDF is operating according to an orderly plan planned by the General Staff and Northern Command, to which the forces have trained and prepared in recent months," it said.

* Channel 14 contributed to this article.