Israel-Hezbollah tension see new heights with clash, strikes
BEIRUT
Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday its fighters were clashing with Israeli troops who had "infiltrated" a southern border village, while the Lebanese army said Israeli soldiers had made a brief incursion into the south.
It is the first time the Iran-backed group has announced such fighting on Lebanese soil since the start of an escalation last week when the Israeli army began pounding south Lebanon.
Hezbollah said it was battling Israeli soldiers "who infiltrated the village of Maroun al-Ras.”
It said in an earlier statement that it had forced Israeli soldiers to withdraw after they attempted to infiltrate the border village of Adaysseh further northeast.
The Lebanese army said Israeli forces had briefly breached the demarcation line between the countries.
"Israeli enemy forces breached the Blue Line by approximately 400 meters (yards) into Lebanese territory" in two areas, "then withdrew a short time later,” the army said on X.
Earlier this week, Israel said it started "targeted ground raids" across Israel's northern border, but the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said there was "no ground incursion" going on in the south.
Hezbollah at the time said any reports that Israel had entered Lebanese territory were "false claims.”
After issuing a similar call a day earlier, the Israeli military on Wednesday issued an expanded call for residents to evacuate over 20 areas in south Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the army announced the death of an officer who was killed during fighting against Hezbollah, the first fatality of Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon.
Lebanon's disaster management agency said 1,873 people have been killed since Israel and Hezbollah began trading cross-border fire after the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.
With Israel continuing its intense airstrikes on the Lebanese capital, it destroyed several homes in morning airstrikes on settlements in southern Lebanon. The media captured photos of severe destruction in Beirut.