Tens of thousands of IDF troops amassed along the northern border Wednesday evening in preparation for Israel's largest and deepest ground incursion into southern Lebanon since the beginning of Operation Change of Direction last month.

The security cabinet on Wednesday approved a plan presented by IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, under which military forces by the thousands will head up to the Litani river over 20 kilometers from Israel and beyond in an effort to prevent the incessant Katyusha rocket attacks on northern Israel.

Some 7,000 IDF troops were operating in southern Lebanon Wednesday, clashing with Hizbullah guerrillas in several villages while holding and maintaining position along a 10-kilometer-deep security zone the IDF had created. An additional 40,000 IDF troops and reservists were waiting along the northern border in preparation for the major push to the Litani.

A high-ranking IDF officer and member of the General Staff told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday that it would take the military at least one week to reach the Litani and beyond, and to set up position and begin taking control of the area.

Jerusalem Post