The Israeli military stepped up strikes and demolition operations in southern Lebanon on Saturday with the U.S. ambassador to Israel saying Israeli forces would remain there until the Lebanese army is strong enough to take over security responsibilities.

Israeli forces carried out a large-scale demolition operation in the southern Lebanese town of Khiyam, accompanied by a powerful blast in the nearby area of Mansouri.

Israeli artillery also shelled the outskirts of Haddatha, Haris and Mayfadoun before dawn, while Israeli warplanes launched heavy airstrikes on Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa. The town was reportedly targeted in four separate waves.

A medical emergency team from the Islamic Risala Scouts and the Bayt al-Talaba ambulance service narrowly escaped an Israeli airstrike while heading to the sites of two earlier strikes on Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military notified communities in northern Israel that it planned to carry out a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon in the coming hours.

An Israeli military source told Al-Hadath that Israeli forces had deployed several kilometers inside Lebanese territory as part of what it described as a “defensive security belt.” The source said operations were continuing and that troops had located weapons depots and launch sites.

The Israeli military also said two soldiers were lightly wounded in southern Lebanon after an explosive device planted by Hezbollah struck an engineering vehicle.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the roadside bomb was planted by Hezbollah inside the military’s buffer zone in southern Lebanon. The blast wounded two soldiers, who were taken to a hospital in good condition, the IDF said, adding that their families had been notified.

The IDF said it responded by striking several Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon, including surveillance posts and locations it said were being used by the group to prepare attacks.

The developments came after U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon until the Lebanese army had developed sufficient capabilities to assume responsibility for the area.