Hezbollah said it repelled an Israeli infiltration into southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as Israel reported eight soldiers were killed — its first losses since launching cross-border raids this week.
The clashes came hours after Iran launched its largest missile attack yet on Israel, its sworn enemy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran would pay for its “big mistake”.
US President Joe Biden ruled out supporting an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian again warned of a “stronger” response, though he stressed Iran was “not looking for war”.
Israel, shifting its focus from the Gaza war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks, is now trying to secure its border with Lebanon so tens of thousands Israelis displaced by nearly a year of exchanges of fire with Hezbollah can return home.
A day after its military said it was conducting “targeted ground raids” in south Lebanon, Israel reported the first death of a soldier in the Israel-Hezbollah war, a toll that later rose to eight dead.
Israel bombarded Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold, having dealt a significant blow to the group last week by killing its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a massive strike.
Hezbollah said it forced Israeli soldiers to retreat, targeted an Israeli unit with explosives and destroyed three Merkava tanks with rockets as they advanced on Maroun al-Ras village.
The Israeli army said it staged two brief incursions into Lebanon, warning residents to evacuate more than 20 areas.
In Beirut, Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs were repeatedly bombarded overnight, with AFP correspondents hearing about 20 explosions and seeing smoke billowing over the area.