The Israeli military announced Monday that it has launched a "targeted" ground operation in southern Lebanon as the number of displaced Lebanese surpassed a staggering 1 million. 

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had directed the military to destroy Hezbollah structures near the border and added that displaced Lebanese citizens will not be able to return to their homes until Israel’s northern residents are deemed secure from Hezbollah fire.

The Israeli military also confirmed Monday that a reserve division operating in northern Israel had joined the regular infantry and armored divisions responsible for the Lebanon sector, which stretches from the coastal kibbutz of Rosh Hanikra near the Lebanese border to the disputed Mount Dov area south of Lebanon’s Shebaa Farms, at the tri-border point of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

At least 886 Lebanese have been killed over the past two weeks and 2,141 have been wounded, according to Lebanese health authorities. Israel says it has killed more than 230 Hezbollah fighters. Twelve Israelis have been killed by Iranian and Hezbollah rockets and 247 have been wounded over the past 17 days.