Israeli officials have announced plans to expand ground and air attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, aiming to protect communities in northern Israel from attacks. The chief of the general staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, has approved plans to advance the targeted ground operations against Hezbollah. This follows reports that Israeli forces have been instructed to destroy the crossings over the Litani river used by Hezbollah to send reinforcements. Many in Lebanon worry that Israel may be planning to isolate the south from the rest of the country ahead of an operation to occupy some areas and create a "bridged" zone. The latest escalation in the decades-long conflict between Hezbollah and Israel started when the group fired rockets into Israel in response to the killing of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.