Israeli commander killed in clashes with Hezbollah in south Lebanon
Hezbollah said on Wednesday that its fighters were clashing with Israeli troops attempting to infiltrate a southern Lebanese town, after earlier pushing back an attempted infiltration elsewhere.
Hezbollah "is engaged in ongoing clashes with the Israeli enemy's soldiers who infiltrated the village of Maroun al-Ras from the east", the group said in a statement, adding that several Israeli troops were killed and wounded in the battle.
The Israeli military said a team commander in the Egoz Commando Unit was killed in combat in Lebanon on Wednesday, marking the first loss it confirms since its forces crossed the border.
Hezbollah also said it fought off an attempted infiltration by Israeli infantry forces into the town of Odaisseh in the morning, on the eastern boundary with Israel, inflicting losses and forcing the unit to retreat.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that Israeli forces breached the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line, moving around 400m into Lebanese territory and then withdrew a short time later.
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Hours earlier, Hezbollah said it conducted a series of attacks on Israeli troops stationed along the boundary with Lebanon, targeting three different military positions with rockets and artillery fire, achieving "direct hits".
Hezbollah's media chief Mohammad Afif said on that the group has enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push back Israeli forces.
Israeli Telegram pages said rescue helicopters were seen transporting soldiers from the northern border to hospitals in Haifa after the attacks. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The clashes come as the Israeli military said that regular infantry and armoured units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon, supported by the air force and artillery fire, a day after Iran attacked Israel with a barrage of ballistic missiles.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli unit with an explosive device near the southern border village of Yaroun, a few kilometres from Maroun al-Ras.
"As the Israeli enemy army tried to sneak around the village of Yaroun... (Hezbollah) fighters surprised them by detonating an explosive device," it said, reporting Israeli casualties.
Mobilisation of forces
Since announcing its plans for a ground invasion of Lebanon on Monday evening, Israel has described its operation as one of "limited" commando raids. However, the addition of infantry and armoured troops from the 36th Division, including the Golani Brigade, the 188th Armoured Brigade and 6th Infantry Brigade, suggests that the operation has moved beyond that.
The Israeli military has claimed that its ground operation is primarily focused on dismantling Hezbollah tunnels and other infrastructure along the border.
On Tuesday, sources close to Hezbollah told Middle East Eye that Israeli forces entered tunnels in a small area on the border without any intervention from the group's elite Radwan forces.
"This was done intentionally to avoid revealing the military plans of Hezbollah forces in the early stages of the battle," he said.
The Israeli military on Wednesday ordered the residents of 24 towns in south Lebanon to leave their homes and head north of the Awali River, warning of impending attacks on the areas.
Some of the towns mentioned are on the outskirts of the city of Tyre, more than 20 kilometres north of the border.
Israel also continued to bomb areas across south Lebanon on Wednesday and conducted strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, locally known as Dahiyeh, with at least a dozen raids.
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