The move suggests Israel may seek to strike Hezbollah for the first time from further east along Lebanon's border, at the same time creating a secure area from which it can freely reconnoitre the armed group and prevent infiltration, the sources said.
Hezbollah said its "fighters clashed with" Israeli troops Tuesday who were trying to infiltrate on the outskirts of Rab Tlatin village.
Sirens sounded in northern Israel on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, adding three Israeli military personnel were severely injured on Tuesday and Wednesday during combat in southern Lebanon.
Israel's military said the air force was carrying out extensive bombings of Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon and two Israeli soldiers were killed, taking the Israeli military death toll inside Lebanon to 11.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on Kaouk's fate, but supporters have been posting mourning messages for him since Saturday.
Nasrallah's killing in a command HQ on Friday came barely a week after Israel's deadly detonation of hundreds of booby-trapped pagers and radios. It was the culmination of a rapid succession of strikes that have eliminated half of Hezbollah's leadership council and decimated its top military command.
Fighting has escalated this week. Israel killed another top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Qubaisi, on Tuesday. For its part, Hezbollah has shown its capacity to continue operations, firing hundreds of rockets towards Israel in ever deeper attacks.
Hezbollah on Tuesday morning said it had attacked several Israeli military targets, including an explosives factory 60 km (37 miles) into Israel, with the Fadi series of rockets.
Nasrallah and Hezbollah have thrived with an image of invincibility after confronting Israel in 2006.
The move suggests Israel may seek to strike Hezbollah for the first time from further east along Lebanon's border, at the same time creating a secure area from which it can freely reconnoitre the armed group and prevent infiltration, the sources said.
Hezbollah said its "fighters clashed with" Israeli troops Tuesday who were trying to infiltrate on the outskirts of Rab Tlatin village.
Sirens sounded in northern Israel on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, adding three Israeli military personnel were severely injured on Tuesday and Wednesday during combat in southern Lebanon.
Israel's military said the air force was carrying out extensive bombings of Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon and two Israeli soldiers were killed, taking the Israeli military death toll inside Lebanon to 11.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on Kaouk's fate, but supporters have been posting mourning messages for him since Saturday.
Nasrallah's killing in a command HQ on Friday came barely a week after Israel's deadly detonation of hundreds of booby-trapped pagers and radios. It was the culmination of a rapid succession of strikes that have eliminated half of Hezbollah's leadership council and decimated its top military command.
Fighting has escalated this week. Israel killed another top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Qubaisi, on Tuesday. For its part, Hezbollah has shown its capacity to continue operations, firing hundreds of rockets towards Israel in ever deeper attacks.
Hezbollah on Tuesday morning said it had attacked several Israeli military targets, including an explosives factory 60 km (37 miles) into Israel, with the Fadi series of rockets.
Nasrallah and Hezbollah have thrived with an image of invincibility after confronting Israel in 2006.
Expectations of an escalation between the two sides had risen since a missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last month killed 12 youngsters and the Israeli military assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut in response.