Around eight to 12 Israeli soldiers were killed and several others were wounded in several exchanges with Hezbollah in a gunfight inside Lebanon. According to ABP's team on the ground covering the war in the Middle East, Israeli forces have advanced some 400 metres in side Beruit territory, the first time since Israel began its ground advance earlier this week.
Israeli soldiers encounter Hezbollah fighters for the first time on the second day of the ground invasion of Lebanon. Meanwhile, visuals from the streets of Lebanon showed widespread destruction done by overnight Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah-dominated neighbourhoods. Several shops, businesses and people's homes were razed as Israel continued to drop bombs on Hezbollah properties.
According to Lebanon’s army, Israeli soldiers made a brief incursion into the country’s south but withdrew later after Hezbollah fighters encountered them. “Israeli enemy forces breached the Blue Line by approximately 400 metres (yards) into Lebanese territory” in two areas, “then withdrew a short time later”, the army said in a statement on X, referring to the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel. Hezbollah also claimed that it had destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks with rockets near the border town of Maroun El Ras.
After targeting Hezbollah’s senior leadership, including chief Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli troops are now targeting Hezbollah in its home villages in the south. But targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure along the border may prove difficult for Israeli forces as it is where the Hezbollah fighters have experience operating for decades in well-prepared positions.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have also confirmed the death of eight of its troops in combat. IDF said its soldiers, who were backed by aircraft, had “eliminated terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure through precision-guided munitions and close-range engagements” in several southern Lebanese areas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condoled the deaths of the eight soldiers in a video shared on X. "We are at the height of a difficult war against Iran's Axis of Evil, which wants to destroy us.
"This will not happen because we will stand together and with God's help, we will win together," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military announced that regular infantry and armoured would be joining its ground operations in Lebanon. This followed a day after Iran launched more than 180 missiles into Israel. Iran later said that the attack was over unless Israel provoked further. However, both Israel and the United States have vowed a strong retaliation.