JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP)— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon Tuesday it could face destruction “like Gaza” as Israel ramps up its ground offensive against Hezbollah along the southern section of the Lebanese coast.

Netanyahu’s stark warning came as the Israeli military deployed more troops and urged civilians in coastal areas to evacuate.

“You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a video address directed to the people of Lebanon.

“I say to you, the people of Lebanon: Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end.”

Hezbollah earlier said it fired rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa, after the Israeli military reported 85 projectiles crossing from Lebanon.

Israel expanded operations in Lebanon nearly a year after Hezbollah began exchanging fire in support of its ally, Hamas, following the Palestinian group’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

While battling Hamas in Gaza, Israel has vowed to secure its northern border with Lebanon to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by Hezbollah’s cross-border fire to return home.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah have pledged no let-up against Israel, and on Tuesday Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said the group would make it impossible for Israelis to return to the north.

Israel launched a wave of strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on September 23, leaving at least 1,150 people dead since then and forcing more than a million people to flee.

Israeli attacks have mainly targeted Hezbollah strongholds in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as south Beirut.

While the coast has not been spared, Israel’s latest evacuation warning suggests it is extending its offensive northwards.

On its Telegram channel, the Israeli military said its 146th Division began “limited, localised, targeted operational activities” against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in southwestern Lebanon.

A day earlier, the military had warned people to stay away from the southern part of Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast, with a spokesman saying Israel would “soon operate in the maritime area against Hezbollah’s terrorist activities” south of the Awali river.

In Sidon, fishermen stayed ashore and the seafood market was unusually quiet.

“Fishing was the way we supported our children. If we don’t go out to sea, we won’t be able to feed ourselves,” said fisherman Issam Haboush.

The Israeli military said it hit Hezbollah’s south Beirut bastion, where a strike last month killed the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah later said it repelled Israeli troops who “infiltrated from behind” a UN peacekeepers’ position in the southern border village of Labboune.

Hezbollah’s deputy leader said despite Israel’s “painful” strikes, the group’s leadership structure was in order and its military capabilities were “fine”.