Lebanese security forces found seven missiles directed at Israel in southern Lebanon on Thursday, an army official said.

"The army has found seven missiles in the coastal region between Naqqura and Tair Harfa directed toward Israel," the official told AFP.

"We are investigating whether they were prepared for launching or for use at a later stage. The expert is dismantling them now," the official added.

The area where the missiles were found is a stronghold of the Shiite Hezbollah militant group and lies less than five kilometers (three miles) from Lebanon's border with Israel.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating 34-day war in the summer of 2006 which killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

During the war, Hezbollah fired over 40,000 missiles at Israel. The group has been accused by the Jewish state of using the time since the end of the conflict to rearm.

Last month, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told parliament that the Shiite group is three times stronger now than it was in 2006.