Israel's army approved an offensive against Lebanon after a spike in cross-border fire, as talk of "all-out war" stoked concerns over the Gaza conflict spiraling into the broader Middle East. "Operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field" by commanders of the Israel Defense Forces, the Israeli military said Tuesday night, without disclosing whether the initiative would involve mobilizing troops into the neighboring nation. Israel and Hezbollah, which controls much of Lebanon, have been trading fire since October in parallel with the Jewish nation's war campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Both Hamas and Hezbollah benefit from Iranian patronage, and the Lebanese group claims sol