Israel beefs up forces on Lebanon border
Published: 04:10 PM,Oct 02,2024 | EDITED : 08:10 PM,Oct 02,2024
People stand amid debris in the aftermath of Israeli strikes in Chiyah, Lebanon. — Reuters
BEIRUT: Hezbollah said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces inside Lebanon on Wednesday, reporting ground clashes for the first time since Israel began pushing into its northern neighbour in a campaign to hammer the armed group.
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armoured units were joining its ground operations in Lebanon, a day after Israel was attacked by Iran in a strike that raised fears the oil-producing Middle East could be engulfed in a wider conflict.
An Israeli team commander was killed in Lebanon, the Israeli military said. A Lebanese soldier was injured in an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army said in a statement.
Iran said on Wednesday the attack - its biggest assault on Israel - was over barring further provocation, but Israel and the United States promised to hit back hard.
Israel activated air defences against Iran's bombardment on Tuesday and most missiles were intercepted 'by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States,' Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video on X.
The violence, meanwhile, continued on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah said it was clashing with Israeli troops in the border town of Maroun el Ras after it had pushed back forces near another border town. The group said it had also fired rockets at military posts inside Israel.
The group's media chief Mohammad Afif said those battles were only 'the first round' and that the group had enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push back Israel.
The military has said its incursion is largely aimed at destroying tunnels and other infrastructure on the border and there were no plans for a wider operation targeting Beirut or major cities in southern Lebanon.
Nevertheless, it issued new evacuation orders for around two dozen towns along the southern border, instructing inhabitants to head north of the Awali River, which flows east to west some 60 km north of the Israeli border.
Despite calls for a ceasefire from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued. Israel renewed its bombardment early on Wednesday of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Iran-backed group, with more than a dozen air strikes against what it said were targets belonging to Hezbollah.
Nearly 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics. More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes. — Reuters
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armoured units were joining its ground operations in Lebanon, a day after Israel was attacked by Iran in a strike that raised fears the oil-producing Middle East could be engulfed in a wider conflict.
An Israeli team commander was killed in Lebanon, the Israeli military said. A Lebanese soldier was injured in an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army said in a statement.
Iran said on Wednesday the attack - its biggest assault on Israel - was over barring further provocation, but Israel and the United States promised to hit back hard.
Israel activated air defences against Iran's bombardment on Tuesday and most missiles were intercepted 'by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States,' Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video on X.
The violence, meanwhile, continued on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah said it was clashing with Israeli troops in the border town of Maroun el Ras after it had pushed back forces near another border town. The group said it had also fired rockets at military posts inside Israel.
The group's media chief Mohammad Afif said those battles were only 'the first round' and that the group had enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push back Israel.
The military has said its incursion is largely aimed at destroying tunnels and other infrastructure on the border and there were no plans for a wider operation targeting Beirut or major cities in southern Lebanon.
Nevertheless, it issued new evacuation orders for around two dozen towns along the southern border, instructing inhabitants to head north of the Awali River, which flows east to west some 60 km north of the Israeli border.
Despite calls for a ceasefire from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued. Israel renewed its bombardment early on Wednesday of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Iran-backed group, with more than a dozen air strikes against what it said were targets belonging to Hezbollah.
Nearly 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics. More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes. — Reuters