October 2, 2024
Eight Israeli
soldiers have been killed in combat with Hezbollah in south Lebanon, the
Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday. Three of those killed are
commanders, and seven other soldiers are critically wounded.
Smoke clouds erupt during an Israeli airstrike on Khiam in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on October 2 2024 (AFP)
Hezbollah
clashed with Israeli troops infiltrating the southern Lebanese border town of
Maroun al-Ras, after earlier pushing back an attempted infiltration elsewhere.
The group
destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks with guided missiles as they approached
near the town, it said in a statement.
In a separate
statement it said that several Israeli troops were killed and wounded in combat
in both Maroun al-Ras and Odaissah, where its fighters fought off an incursion
by Israeli infantry soldiers in the morning, forcing them to retreat.
Sky News Arabia
quoted an Israeli source as saying that 14 Israeli soldiers were killed in
battle on Wednesday.
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The Lebanese
army said in a statement that Israeli forces breached the demarcation line
between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line, moving around 400m into
Lebanese territory, and then withdrew a short time later.
Hours earlier,
Hezbollah said it conducted a series of attacks on Israeli troops stationed
along the boundary with Lebanon, targeting three different military positions
with rockets and artillery fire, achieving "direct hits".
Hezbollah's
media chief Mohammad Afif said the group has enough fighters, weapons and
ammunition to push back Israeli forces.
Israeli Telegram
pages said rescue helicopters were seen transporting soldiers from the northern
border to hospitals in Haifa after the attacks. There was no immediate comment
from the Israeli military.
Israeli
journalist Meron Rapoport told Middle East Eye that it was too early to say
whether the heavy Israeli casualties would deter a military invasion but added
that continued losses may have an impact on the Israeli military and Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans.
"The war in
Lebanon is not only Netanyahu's war, it's also the army's war and the great
majority of Israelis support it. They feel that it is possible to win, that
Hezbollah is weak and and that Israel can achieve some goals." He said,
adding:
"Now this
early result, in which eight Israeli officers and soldiers were killed almost
immediately after the ground invasion may remind people in Israel of the
traumas of Israel's previous invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and in 2006."
The clashes come
as the Israeli military said that regular infantry and armoured units were
joining ground operations in southern Lebanon, supported by the air force and
artillery fire, a day after Iran attacked Israel with a barrage of ballistic
missiles.
On Wednesday
afternoon, Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli unit with an explosive
device near the southern border village of Yaroun, a few kilometres from Maroun
al-Ras.
"As the
Israeli enemy army tried to sneak around the village of Yaroun... [Hezbollah]
fighters surprised them by detonating an explosive device," it said,
reporting Israeli casualties.
Mobilisation of
forces
Since announcing
its plans for a ground invasion of Lebanon on Monday evening, Israel has
described its operation as one of "limited" commando raids. However,
the addition of infantry and armoured troops from the 36th Division, including
the Golani Brigade, the 188th Armoured Brigade and the 6th Infantry Brigade,
suggests that the operation has moved beyond that.
The Israeli
military has claimed that its ground operation is primarily focused on
dismantling Hezbollah tunnels and other infrastructure along the border.
On Tuesday,
sources close to Hezbollah told Middle East Eye that Israeli forces entered
tunnels in a small area on the border without any intervention from the group's
elite Radwan forces.
"This was
done intentionally to avoid revealing the military plans of Hezbollah forces in
the early stages of the battle," he said.
The Israeli
military on Wednesday ordered the residents of 24 towns in south Lebanon to
leave their homes and head north of the Awali River, warning of impending
attacks on the areas.
Some of the
towns mentioned are on the outskirts of the city of Tyre, more than 20km north
of the border.
Israeli calls on
Lebanese to leave towns in south Lebanon and in Beirut’s suburbs have become an
almost daily occurrence. On Tuesday, Israel warned the residents of 29 villages
to leave as its army prepares to comb the area.
At least 1.2
million people have been displaced by Israeli attacks across Lebanon.
Israel also
continued to bomb areas across south Lebanon on Wednesday and conducted strikes
in Beirut's southern suburbs, locally known as Dahiyeh, with at least a dozen
raids.
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