Hezbollah’s deputy leader said that the group already is “in the heart of the battle.”

The comments Naim Kassem, came as Israel shelled and made drone strikes in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles toward Israel. For its part, the Palestinian Jihad Movement announced the killing of one of its members in southern Lebanon.

For Hezbollah, heating up the Lebanon-Israel border has a clear purpose, Kassem said: “We are trying to weaken the Israeli enemy and let them know that we are ready.” Hamas officials have said that if Israel starts a ground offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah will join the fighting.

Kassem said his group already was affecting the course of the conflict by heating up the Lebanon-Israel border and keeping three Israeli army divisions tied up in the north instead of preparing to fight in Gaza.

“Do you believe that if you try to crush the Palestinian resistance, other resistance fighters in the region will not act?” Kassem said in a speech Saturday during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter. “We are in the heart of the battle today. We are making achievements through this battle.”

On Friday, the Israeli military announced the evacuation of a border city where three residents were wounded in the crossfire a day earlier.

On Sunday, ", Israel's military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Hezbollah's escalating attacks on Israel risk "dragging Lebanon into a war, after renewed cross-border exchanges of fire that have raised fears of a wider conflict.

"Hezbollah... is dragging Lebanon into a war that it will gain nothing from, but stands to lose a lot," Conricus said.

"Hezbollah is playing a very, very dangerous game. They're escalating the situation. We see more and more attacks every day," he said.

"Is the Lebanese state really willing to jeopardise what is left of Lebanese prosperity and Lebanese sovereignty for the sake of terrorists in Gaza?

"That's a question that the Lebanese authorities need to ask themselves and answer."he said.