JERUSALEM/BEIRUT/BERLIN -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement on Sunday that he had instructed the military to deepen and expand its grip on Lebanese areas held by Hezbollah.

The instruction followed the capture of the Beaufort Ridge, including the strategic castle at its summit, in southern Lebanon by Israeli forces, an area beyond the "security zone" Israel has maintained since a ceasefire took effect in mid-April.

Netanyahu said that after his directive to expand the maneuver in Lebanon, Israeli forces crossed the Litani River and seized key terrain, including the Beaufort.

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He added that the current objective is to consolidate control over these captured positions, calling the seizure of the Beaufort "a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading."

The Israeli prime minister said that since the multi-front conflict began in October 2023, Israel has killed 8,000 Hezbollah militants, including 700 in the past month alone.

Lebanese parliament speaker: Hezbollah ready for ceasefire

Also on Sunday, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that Hezbollah is committed to a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, calling for efforts to compel Israel to halt its military operations, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Berri said the conflict "does not lie in the resistance's position on a ceasefire," but rather in the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which he said have displaced thousands of Lebanese civilians and continue to demolish villages and homes in various areas.

READ MORE: Israeli army captures strategic castle in S. Lebanon

Any effort to de-escalate the conflict requires genuine guarantees that would oblige Israel to fully stop its attacks, he added.

His remarks came as southern Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented Israeli military escalation, framed by Israel as necessary to eliminate Hezbollah.

German foreign minister expresses 'great concern'

In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Sunday expressed "great concern" over the further advance of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, urging all conflict parties to immediately cease hostilities and return to an agreed ceasefire.

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In a statement, Wadephul noted that while the Israeli military action is a reaction to ongoing attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel, any further escalation will aggravate an already tense situation and trigger new waves of displacement within Lebanon.

If civilians are the ones who pay the price of a military escalation and parts of Lebanon become permanently uninhabitable, it will not make Israel's neighborhood safer in the long term, he said.