Israel’s army is engaged in battles with Hezbollah during the ground offensive in Lebanon. Now there are the first confirmed casualties among Israeli soldiers.
Beirut – Israel began its ground offensive in Lebanon on Tuesday. The Israeli army encounters resistance. The result is losses in our own ranks. In fighting with the Shiite militia Hezbollah A total of eight Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. The Israeli army said another seven soldiers were wounded, some seriously.
These were two different battles. The army had previously only reported one soldier killed. Hezbollah fighters are also said to have destroyed three Israeli battle tanks that were advancing on the Lebanese town of Marun al-Ras. There was initially no confirmation of this from Israel.
Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia had previously reported direct fighting with Israeli ground troops near the Lebanese town of Udaissa. According to their account, the Israelis tried to invade the town right on the border with Israel. Members of the Shiite militia fought with Israeli infantry forces on Wednesday morning and forced them to retreat. However, Hezbollah did not provide any information about its own possible losses.
According to the Israeli army, cities and towns in northern Israel were again attacked with rockets from Lebanon. 20 incoming projectiles were registered in the greater area of the port city of Haifa. There were also air alerts in numerous places further north and east of Haifa. Some of the rockets were intercepted, the rest fell in open areas. The army initially did not report any casualties or major damage.
Israel’s army urges Lebanese to flee
Meanwhile, the Israeli army warned residents of dozens of towns in southern Lebanon of planned attacks and called on them to flee immediately. Anyone who stays near Hezbollah members, facilities and weapons is putting their life in danger, an Israeli military spokesman wrote in Arabic on the X platform. It is to be expected that every house that Hezbollah uses for military purposes use, be attacked. The places mentioned by the speaker are almost all south of the Litani River.
The Israelis want to push back the Hezbollah militia behind this river, which flows from east to west about 30 kilometers north of the de facto Israeli-Lebanese border. The aim is to restore security in northern Israel so that around 60,000 evacuated citizens can return home. A UN resolution also stipulates that Hezbollah should withdraw behind the Litani River.
Israeli bombings also on the border with Syria
According to Lebanese sources, the Israeli military also attacked targets near a border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. Security circles and border officials reported that the Masnaa crossing had to be closed as a result of the attacks. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirmed the attack. The television station CNN showed recordings of a large crater intended to document the impact on the road.
Parallels to the 1982 Lebanon War
The youngest Developments show parallels to the first Lebanon war in 1982. That was back then Israel also invaded Lebanon with ground troops to combat Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters. At that time, Israeli troops advanced into the capital, Beirut. At that time, however, Israel had to pay a high price for this. According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, 1,216 Israeli soldiers were killed in three years from June 5, 1982. According to historians, at least 14,000 people died on the Palestinian and Lebanese sides. (erpe/dpa/AFP)
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