Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: Israel planning limited ground operation in Lebanon

Israel's limited ground incursion into Lebanon could be imminent, two more U.S. officials have told ABC News.

One of the officials said Israel notified the U.S. of its intentions.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh would not confirm as much when repeatedly asked Monday, but did give new details on the additional forces being sent to the region to potentially defend Israel and its own forces.

"These augmented forces include F-16, F-15E, A-10, F 22 fighter aircraft and associated personnel," Singh said.

The fighter aircraft are to be used for air defense, such as intercepting missiles if needed, according to Singh. There are "an additional few thousand" troops in the region as part of the augmented force, according to Singh.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Matt Seyler

The U.S. expects Israel to imminently begin a limited ground operation into Lebanon that would be targeted, in order to clear out Hezbollah infrastructure near Israeli border communities and then pull their forces back, according to a senior U.S. official.

This could start "immediately," according to the senior official.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Speaking to reporters Monday at the White House, President Joe Biden addressed Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon and reports that they are preparing for a limited ground operation.

The comment, which followed Biden’s remarks on Hurricane Helene, came after a reporter asked if he was aware of and "comfortable" with the possibility of Israel invading Lebanon.

"I'm more aware than you might know, and I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a cease-fire now," Biden replied.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was "a brutal terrorist, whose many victims included Americans, Israelis, civilians in Lebanon, civilians in Syria and many others as well."

During a ministerial meeting on defeating ISIS in Washington, D.C., Blinken said Hezbollah under Nasrallah's leadership "terrorized people across the region and prevented Lebanon from fully moving forward as a country."

"Lebanon, the region, the world, are safer without him," Blinken added.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut on Friday, marking the most significant blow yet to Hezbollah over almost a year of cross-border conflict with Israel.

Israeli airstrikes are continuing across Lebanon and in the capital. A U.S. official told ABC News on Sunday that small-scale cross-border Israeli ground operations may have already begun, as a prelude to a wider offensive into southern Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah targets.

Blinken said the U.S. and its partners would continue to work toward a diplomatic solution "that provides real security to Israel, to Lebanon, and allows citizens on both sides of the border to return to their homes."

"Diplomacy remains the best and only path to achieving greater stability in the Middle East," he said. "The United States remains committed to urgently driving these efforts forward."

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston