JERUSALEM/BEIRUT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that large Israeli ground forces were "deepening" their operation in Lebanon, and seizing "dominating areas".

In a video statement at the beginning of his Security Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the expanded operation aims to fortify what he described as a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon, along Israel's northern border.

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is operating with large forces on the ground and seizing dominating areas," Netanyahu said.

He added that Israel was carrying out what he called a major effort to develop "creative and innovative" solutions against Hezbollah's explosive drones, which have killed and wounded Israeli troops during the fighting.

Earlier on Tuesday, state-owned Kan TV news reported that the Israeli ground forces have begun operating beyond a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon.

Deeper into Lebanon beyond ceasefire line

Meanwhile, Israeli ground forces have begun operating beyond what it described as a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon, Kan TV news reported Tuesday.

A security official told the broadcaster that the military was working to counter Hezbollah's explosive drones, and had struck about 150 targets in recent days, including more than 90 weapons depots.

The military is using nets and special ammunition to thwart the drones, but has yet to find a comprehensive solution, the official said.

Although a ceasefire was announced in April, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued.

ALSO READ: US: Israel, Lebanon to extend ceasefire for 45 days

The Israeli military said it had begun a new wave of strikes on Hezbollah sites in several areas of southern Lebanon.

Eighteen people killed

According to Lebanon's official sources, Israeli strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 20 others.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel launched about 33 airstrikes on southern Lebanon within an hour on Tuesday.

Israeli strikes on a town in the western Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon on early Tuesday killed 11 people, including two girls and a woman, and wounded 15 others, including a child, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry, which said rescue operations were still ongoing.

In southern Lebanon, an Israeli strike on a house in Maarakeh killed one person and wounded several others, while a drone strike on a vehicle in Khirbet Selm in southern Lebanon killed another person, according to the NNA.

Residents of Nabatieh ordered to evacuate

Also on Tuesday, Israel issued an evacuation warning for residents of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, urging them to leave "immediately" ahead of planned strikes.

Around noon on Tuesday, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on the social media platform X that all residents of Nabatieh must move north of the Zahrani River.

READ MORE: Lebanese PM says Lebanon open to peace agreement with Israel if demands met

"Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, and their combat means endangers their lives," Adraee wrote.