Israel hits 40 military targets in southern Lebanon, border fighting continues

On Wednesday, the Israeli army hit around 40 military targets in southern Lebanon, where intense fighting has been escalating in recent days. On the other hand, the armed Lebanese movement Hezbollah today fired dozens of rockets at an Israeli border village, reports Reuters.

Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in the most intense armed clashes in nearly two decades since the Gaza war broke out in October last year. This raises fears of a larger and more destructive open conflict between these heavily armed adversaries.

The Israeli military said the strikes in the area of ​​the village of Ayta al-Shaab, which lies about two kilometers over the border with Lebanon, hit infrastructure, including warehouses and weapons, which it said were heavily used by Hezbollah forces. Attacks are largely confined to areas near the Israeli-Lebanese border, with Israel sometimes striking deeper into eastern Lebanon.

“There are continuous offensive actions by the Israeli army throughout southern Lebanon and in other parts of this country. The results of our operations are very impressive,” Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant said after an operational meeting at the army’s Northern Command. He also stated that Israeli forces in southern Lebanon have already killed half of Hezbollah’s commanders.

An unnamed Hezbollah official dismissed the claim as “completely fabricated”, saying it was only meant to boost Israeli morale. He added that his group regularly publishes photos and biographical information of its slain fighters. Today, Hezbollah held the funeral of one of its high-ranking commanders, Hussein Azkul, who was killed by Israeli forces earlier this week.

Israeli strikes have killed around 250 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon since October 7, according to Reuters calculations. Another 30 were killed in Israeli strikes in neighboring Syria. Overall, Hezbollah’s losses are higher than in the war with Israel in 2006. In Lebanon, over 70 civilians have also lost their lives since October. A total of 18 soldiers and civilians died on the Israeli side during that time.