Israeli army gives green light for 'continuation of war' in north

Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi has approved plans for "the continuation of the war" on the country's northern front, where it has been engaged in confrontations with Lebanon's Hezbollah militia for months.

The army did not give further details in the statement on Thursday, but merely said Halevi "recently completed approval of plans for the northern arena."

Following a series of explosions involving electronic devices across Lebanon, in which at least 32 people were killed and some 3,000 injured, Halevi said on Wednesday that Israel was determined to enable some 60,000 Israeli citizens evacuated from the border area to return home.

Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the back-to-back blasts of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members and vowed retaliation.