The Israeli military estimates it has killed around 250 Hezbollah fighters, including a number of battalion and company commanders, since the start of its ground operation in Lebanon earlier this week,

"It's something we've been facing for the last year, something we're very aware of moving forward," an IDF official told Newsweek.

The Israeli military urged civilians in more than 20 towns and villages across southern Lebanon to leave their homes, expanding its evacuation warnings as it works to push Hezbollah back from its border.