(JNS) Israel is “prepared for very intense action in the north” to restore security, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, June 5, speaking during a visit to Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanese border.

“We said, at the start of the war, that we would restore security in both the south and the north, and this is what we are doing,” the premier said at a lookout point in the city after earlier being briefed by commanders at the IDF’s Gibor base.

“Whoever thinks he can hurt us and we will respond by sitting on our hands is making a big mistake. We are prepared for very intense action in the north. One way or another, we will restore security to the north,” he said.

Israel is preparing to launch a large-scale attack against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, Channel 12 security and military correspondent Nir Dvori wrote in an article published on Wednesday.

The past eight months of fighting in the north has been “below the threshold of war,” he added.

The IDF is prepared for an all-out campaign, but also for a more limited attack that would remain below the war threshold but risk a sudden and rapid escalation.