JERUSALEM — Israel has been preparing for its next war against Hezbollah for nearly a decade, and a full-scale conflict has seemed increasingly inevitable with each passing month since Oct. 7. Now, with Hamas diminished in Gaza, Israel is putting its battle plan in motion.

The fight against Hamas has strained the Israeli military, with soldiers receiving little respite, officials citing army shortages, the economy facing its steepest decline in years, and growing public pressure for a ceasefire and a hostage deal.

The Pentagon said Monday that additional troops will be sent to the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah rapidly escalates and as world leaders warn it was devolving into a "full-fledged war.

Israel has attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon every day for the past week — from commander assassinations to the destruction of missile launchers — in what officials say is an attempt to force the group to pull back from the border and stop its own rocket barrage.

The US believes Israel has significantly weakened Hezbollah in strikes over the last week but is still working feverishly behind the scenes to try to convince it not to escalate further and launch a ground incursion into Lebanon over concerns the intensified fighting could spark a broader conflict engulfing the wider Middle East,

Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel as fighting intensifies following IDF missile strikes that killed dozens in Beirut, including a senior Hezbollah commander. U.S. and UN officials are now urging both sides to step back.