Israeli soldiers stand behind a mobile artillery unit as it fires into southern Lebanon from a position near the town of Kiryat Shmona July 21, 2006. Israel warned Lebanese civilians to leave border villages on Friday and called up 5,000 reserves in a possible prelude to a ground offensive that would expand its 10-day-old campaign against Hizbollah guerrillas.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Israeli military incursion into southern Lebanon will be limited in scope, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said on Friday.

Halutz expressed the resolution to fight Hezbollah guerillas, local Ha'aretz newspaper reported.

"We will fight terror wherever it is because if we do not fight it, it will fight us. If we don't reach it, it will reach us," Halutz told a press conference in Tel Aviv.

"We will also conduct limited ground operations as much as needed in order to harm the terror that harms us," he said. According to Halutz, nearly 100 Hezbollah gunmen have been killed since the beginning of the IDF offensive on July 12.

"At this time, I can say that many rocket launchers have been destroyed, terror infrastructures have been destroyed and also nearly 100 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed, from all levels and all ranks," Halutz said.

Meanwhile, Northern Command Major General Udi Adam said that the fighting will continue for several more weeks, with additional casualties and fatalities.

The death toll of Israeli soldiers have so far reached 19 after four were killed in fierce clashes with Hezbollah militants on Thursday.