The day after the Israeli army launched Operation Northern Arrows, to describe the massive bombings carried out in south Lebanon and the Bekaa, Israeli President Isaac Herzog was keen to refute the alleged territorial ambitions of the Israeli government in Lebanon.

In an interview with the American news channel CNBC on Tuesday, the Israeli president clarified his country's objectives in intensifying its strikes in Lebanon.

"The position of the Israeli government has been clear: We have no territorial expectations or ambitions in Lebanon or elsewhere," he said about the possibility of a new Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. "No, that is not an objective ... What we want is to allow the return of our citizens to the north and we will achieve this objective, whatever the cost. We have shown our capabilities and we have many more at our disposal if Hezbollah continues its action," he added.

'No distinction' between Hezbollah and Lebanon

These remarks by the Israeli president, however, go against those recently made by several current and former ministers of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. While the prime minister and his staff have maintained the vagueness on the issue without publicly mentioning this option, others have not held back.

Just last Sunday, Yoav Kisch, the Israeli Minister of Education, called on his staff not to make a distinction between Hezbollah and Lebanon: "I say this to the French and other countries in the world who claim the opposite: There is no difference between Hezbollah and Lebanon. I say it very frankly, we are in a situation where Lebanon is heading towards annihilation," he declared on Israeli television channel Channel 14, while he was interviewed to announce school closures on Israeli territory.

And the minister added: "Lebanon as the Lebanese know it will be no more. It will cease to exist. The price of aggression from the territory of Lebanon will be paid by the State of Lebanon."

Threats that echo those made by the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, who notably stated last June that "Israel has the capacity to send Lebanon back to the Stone Age, in any war with Hezbollah."

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After leaving Netanyahu's war cabinet on June 9, National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz said Monday that he supported the government amid a possible invasion of Lebanon, according to the Jerusalem Post.

"The threat of infiltration [by Hezbollah] must be removed and the shooting must stop. We must act not only against Hezbollah, but also against the sovereign state of Lebanon, which bears responsibility for the terrorism emanating from its territory," he said, before continuing: "At the crossroads where we find ourselves, there are two ways forward: The rounds of shooting that will contain Hezbollah's troops and push them away from the border, or the continuation of the offensive, including a ground entry if necessary."

The Israeli army had conducted two land invasions in 1978 and 1982 of south Lebanon, before occupying it until its withdrawal in 2000. A third ground operation had been carried out during the war of July 2006, which had left 1,200 Lebanese dead, mainly civilians, and 160 Israeli dead, mainly soldiers, in 33 days.

According to a count by L'Orient-Le Jour, the human toll from the latest clashes in Lebanon has climbed to 1,331 dead, including at least 309 civilians.

This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.