A senior officer of the Israeli armed forces said on Friday that units in the north of the country, on the border with Lebanon, are preparing for a “decisive attack” against Hezbollah, after months of exchanges of fire.

The Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah (“Party of God”) and the Israeli armed forces have been exchanging fire practically every day since the day after the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas attacked southern Israel, triggering the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

In a speech during a visit to the so-called northern front, Israeli Lt. Gen. Ori Gordin told soldiers that “we have already eliminated over 500 terrorists in Lebanon, the vast majority of them members of Hezbollah,” according to an army statement.

Israeli troops operating to protect residents in that particular sector of the country are “preparing to go on the offensive,” continued Lt. Gen. Gordin, head of the so-called northern command.

“When the moment comes and we go on the attack, it will be a decisive attack,” he assured.

Hostilities since October 8 between the Israeli armed forces and Hezbollah have killed at least 523 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters, according to an AFP tally based on data from various sources.

Most, 342 people, have been confirmed to be Hezbollah fighters, but the dead also include at least 104 civilians.

Lt. Gen. Gordin did not mention civilian casualties in his speech.

On the other side, in northern Israel, at least 18 Israeli soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, according to the armed forces.

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group, says it has been launching attacks against Israel since October to support its ally Hamas.

On both sides of the border, tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes due to the incessant fighting.

Remarkably, Israeli Lt. Gen. Gordin’s speech was recorded a few days after the 18th anniversary of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah 34-day war (July 12).