Israel says forces are carrying out “offensive actions” in southern Lebanon

Jerusalem:

Israeli forces are carrying out “offensive actions” across southern Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday, without specifying whether ground troops have crossed the border.

“Many forces are positioned on the border and IDF (army) forces are currently carrying out offensive actions throughout southern Lebanon,” Gallant said in a statement, also stating that “half of the Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated.” in months of violence. .

“The other half are hiding and abandoning the camp for IDF operations,” he added, without providing a specific number.

In a separate statement, the army said it had struck 40 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

“Recently, IDF (army) fighter jets and artillery struck approximately 40 Hezbollah terrorist targets” around Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, including storage and weapons facilities, he said.

The army said Hezbollah “established dozens of terrorist assets and infrastructures in the area” to attack Israel.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israel carried out more than 13 attacks near Aita al-Shaab and surrounding villages.

“Israeli warplanes carried out… more than 13 air strikes on the outskirts of the cities of Aita al-Shaab, Ramya, Jabal Balat and Khallet Warda,” he said.

The strikes came after Hezbollah said it fired a new volley of rockets across the border on Wednesday after an attack blamed on Israel killed two civilians.

The group had already fired rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday night “in response” to civilian deaths.

There have been cross-border firefights between the Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza.

Since October 7, at least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters, but also 72 civilians, according to an AFP report.

Israel says 11 soldiers and eight civilians were killed on its side of the border.

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