The Israeli army is “prepared for several days of combat in Lebanon” and the issue is “a matter of time,” Israeli reports have quoted a senior Israeli military official as saying.

Concerns have meanwhile surfaced in the Israeli press over Hezbollah’s possible response to any operation in Lebanon.

All-out war between Israel and Hezbollah is ruled out in the foreseeable future, unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides to commit a “foolishness that he might need before the Israeli elections,” political sources said.

“But the current situation is the best for Israel, because it is waging war and achieving several goals without incurring human and material costs, and because any all-out war might push Hezbollah to respond and threaten the security of the (Israeli) north, after Netanyahu’s government said that it waged war on Lebanon to restore security in the settlements,” the sources told al-Binaa newspaper.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Tuesday reassured Israel over the “security” of its northern settlements, as he warned it against continuing its attacks in Lebanon.

“Israel and America want to interfere in Lebanon's future -- in its army, economy and policies. They are exerting pressure because they believe that the (ceasefire) agreement gives Lebanon gains,” said Qassem in a televised speech marking Hezbollah’s ‘Martyr Day’.

A high-ranking U.S. Treasury delegation that visited Beirut Monday pushed Lebanese officials to crack down on the flow of funding to Hezbollah. Local and western media outlets reported a list of demands conveyed by the delegation.

1. Shutting down Hezbollah-affiliated al-Qard al-Hasan, a nonprofit organization operating outside the Lebanese financial system as a quasi-bank.

Hezbollah saw “fundamental gaps” in the latest Egyptian proposal, considering it “closer to the Israeli-U.S. vision regarding the situation in the South, although it carried a single clause that can be considered attractive for Hezbollah, which is keeping its arms in the North Litani region,” sources linked to Hezbollah said.

In remarks to An-Nahar newspaper, the sources said Cairo had proposed that Hezbollah declare handing over all its arms in the South Litani region and disclose any secret depots or bases there. Egypt had also proposed that the group announce that it does not intend to attack Israel after which weapons north of the Litani would enter a so-called “strategic dormancy” state.

The Saudi envoy in charge of the Lebanese file, Prince Yazid bin Farhan, will arrive in Beirut on Wednesday at the head of a big Saudi delegation.

The delegation will comprise 27 figures specialized in the investment, economic, developmental and touristic fields, a diplomatic source in Beirut told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper.

President Joseph Aoun said Tuesday that Lebanon has asked friendly countries to pressure Israel to abide by a ceasefire agreement reached in late November last year.

"So far we have not reached a result," Aoun said from Sofia where he met with Bulgarian officials.

An Israeli army force detonated Tuesday at dawn four houses in the southern border town of Aitaroun in south Lebanon.

A force had also detonated houses in Houla on Monday, with the Israeli army saying that the "buildings were used by Hezbollah."

Israel said it has killed 15 Hezbollah members since the start of November, as it launched further strikes on Lebanon.

The Israeli military launched multiple attacks on Monday, hitting the south and east of the country, while at least one person was killed according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel would strongly enforce its ceasefire agreements in Lebanon and Gaza, vowing that "whoever seeks to harm us, we harm them".

"We are determined to enforce with an iron fist the ceasefire agreements where they exist against those who seek our destruction, and you can see what happens every day in Lebanon," Netanyahu told lawmakers in parliament on Monday.