A US official said Israel is planning a limited ground operation in Lebanon that could begin soon, an Israeli official familiar with the military deliberations confirmed.

The U.S. official, who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks between the two governments, said the campaign Israel is planning “will be smaller than its last war against Hezbollah in 2006 and will focus on clearing out militant infrastructure along the border to remove the threat to Israeli border communities.” On Monday, Israeli forces carried out limited raids into Lebanon, according to the Israeli official familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.

Several American media sources (including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and MSNBC News) have attributed to American and Israeli sources a prediction of an imminent limited Israeli ground operation inside Lebanon as part of its military moves against Hezbollah.

A US official confirmed to CBS News on Monday that Israel has notified the United States that it intends to launch a limited ground operation inside Lebanon. The official said it could begin within hours.

The Israeli occupation forces launched several raids, including the Cola roundabout in Beirut, the Al-Bass Palestinian refugee camp, and other areas near Tyre.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier, citing sources, that Israeli special forces had entered Hezbollah tunnels on the border with Lebanon.

She said that the goal of these forces is to collect intelligence from within Lebanese territory, and explore Hezbollah's capabilities, in preparation for an imminent Israeli ground operation.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that American officials believe they have persuaded Israel not to launch a major ground attack in southern Lebanon.

This understanding was reached, according to the newspaper, after intensive talks that took place over the weekend.

The newspaper indicates that American officials had detected signs of Israeli preparations to launch a major ground operation in southern Lebanon, and that it was imminent.

After discussions with the Israelis, officials said they believed Israel was now planning only "small, targeted raids" in southern Lebanon.

This matter was also confirmed by CNN, which quoted an American official as saying that the United States believes that Israel may soon make a limited incursion into southern Lebanon, after discussions between the two countries.

The network reported that the limited ground incursion will target Hezbollah's infrastructure near the border with Israel, but the network also reported that the US administration is concerned about this limited incursion turning into a larger operation in the long term, and these concerns were also the subject of discussions with the Israeli side.

US President Joe Biden said on Monday when asked about the possibility of an Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon: "The ceasefire must be stopped now."

For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant stated in a conversation with the heads of councils in the northern border towns, that “the next stage in the war against Hezbollah will begin soon. It will be an important factor in changing the security situation and will allow us to complete the important part of the war’s goals, which is returning the residents to their homes, and the operation that is taking place now is in fact part of implementing this matter,” threatening that Hezbollah’s missile arsenal will be eliminated in what he called the second stage, and that “eliminating Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the end. To return the residents of the north safely to their homes.”

On the other hand, Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, Naim Qassem, said in his first public speech since Israel assassinated Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah last Friday that the group is prepared to confront any Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon.

The United States warned Iran on Monday that if it attacks Israel directly in the coming days, the Israeli response this time will be more severe and extensive than it was last April, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that Tehran will not send militants to Lebanon and Gaza to confront Israel.

In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Monday that "Lebanon and the world are safer without Nasrallah," referring to the impact of the absence of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in Israeli raids on the party's headquarters in the southern suburbs on Friday.

Blinken described Nasrallah as a "brutal terrorist" and that his victims were Americans, Israelis, Lebanese and Syrians.

His statements came during a ministerial meeting of the international coalition to combat ISIS, in the US capital, Washington.

Blinken said that his country will continue to seek a diplomatic solution in Lebanon, stressing that diplomacy "remains the best option for achieving peace in the Middle East."