Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel’s military will widen its ground campaign in southern Lebanon.

Speaking at a news conference, Netanyahu said an expansion of the country’s “security belt” in Lebanon is intended to “thwart the threat of invasion and to keep the anti-tank missile fire away from our border.”

Israel has been carrying out an invasion of southern Lebanon since Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel in response to its war on Iran, which it launched alongside the U.S. on Feb. 28. Since March 2, nearly 1,200 people have been killed and more than 3,400 have been wounded in Lebanon. Nineteen people have been killed in Israel.