On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that forces carried out offensive action across southern Lebanon without indicating whether ground troops had crossed the border.
In a statement, Yoav Gallant stated, “Many forces are deployed on the border and IDF (army) forces are carrying out offensive action currently throughout southern Lebanon”.
He also claimed that half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon had been eliminated amid months of violence.
“The other half were in hiding and abandoning the field to IDF operations”, Gallant continued without providing an exact figure.
In a separate statement, the army claimed to have hit 40 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
The army went on to say, “A short while ago, IDF (army) fighter jets and artillery struck approximately 40 Hezbollah terror targets around Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, including storage facilities and weaponry”.
The IDF claimed that Hezbollah has established dozens of terror means and infrastructures in the area to attack Israel.
As per the reports, Israel had conducted over 13 strikes near Aita al-Shaab and nearby communities.
“Israeli warplanes carried out … more than 13 airstrikes targeting the outskirts of the towns of Aita al-Shaab, Ramya, Jabal Balat, and Khallet Warda”, the IDF added.
The strikes came after Hezbollah said it launched a new volley of missiles across the border on Wednesday, following a strike blamed on Israel that killed two civilians.
The group had previously launched missiles into northern Israel late Tuesday in response to the civilian deaths.
Cross-border exchanges have erupted between the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah since Hamas’s October 7 strike on Israel sparked war in Gaza.
At least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon since October 7, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also 72 civilians.
Israel claims eleven soldiers and eight civilians have been killed on its side of the border.
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