Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday condemned Israel’s military deployment against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, calling it an "illegal invasion” that violates the country’s sovereignty.

"The government of Lebanon has banned Hezbollah, is taking action, is trying to take action against Hezbollah and their terrorist activities and their threats to Israel, and that is the purported justification for this invasion," Carney told journalists at an event in Wakefield, Quebec.

"So we condemn it," he said.

Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.

Lebanese authorities said at least 1,247 people have since been killed and 3,690 injured in Israeli attacks.