EPAIsrael’s military says eight of its soldiers have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, its first losses since the start of the ground invasion against the armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, said it had destroyed Israeli tanks during the fighting and insisted it had enough men and ammunition to push back the forces.
Earlier, the Israeli military announced that more infantry and armoured troops had joined the operation seeking to dismantle what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Lebanese border villages.
Meanwhile, there have been more Israeli air strikes in Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has its most important base.
Hezbollah has been weakened after two weeks of Israeli strikes and other attacks that have killed more than 1,200 people across Lebanon and displaced around 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israel has gone on the offensive after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wants to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah attacks.
Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US, the UK and other countries.
On the second full day of their ground invasion into Lebanon, Israeli troops encountered Hezbollah fighters for the first time.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that soldiers backed by aircraft had “eliminated terrorists and dismantled terrorist infrastructure through precision-guided munitions and close-range engagements” in several southern Lebanese areas.
Later, the IDF announced that eight troops had been killed in action. Most were commandos from the elite Egoz and Golani Reconnaissance units.
Six were reportedly ambushed by Hezbollah fighters and another two were killed by mortar fire.
Hezbollah said dozens of its fighters had fired ani-tank missiles at Israeli commandos, killing and wounding dozens of them, during clashes early on Wednesday in one border village.
It also claimed that other troops were targeted with explosives and gunfire on the outskirts of Kafr Kila, and that three Israeli Merkava tanks were destroyed by missiles near Maroun al-Ras.
Hezbollah has spent years building infrastructure in southern Lebanon that includes extensive underground tunnels. It also has thousands of fighters, who know the area well.
Paying tribute to the eight soldiers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had fallen ”in the midst of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us”.
“This will not happen, because we will stand together, and with God’s help, we will win together,” he added.
Israeli air defences were also in action again a day after they repelled the vast majority of the more than 180 ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards Israel on Tuesday night in retaliation for the Israeli air strike in Beirut last Friday that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a top Iranian commander.
More than 240 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel throughout Wednesday, according to the IDF.
Netanyahu insists that the ground offensive in Lebanon will degrade Hezbollah’s capability and push its fighters back, eventually allowing about 60,000 Israelis to return to their homes near the border.
Meanwhile US President Joe Biden said he did not support an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iranian nuclear sites. He added that the US “will be discussing with the Israelis what they’re gonna do” in response to the Iranian barrage.
In Lebanon, the country’s health ministry said on Wednesday evening that another 46 people had killed across the country by Israeli air strikes in the previous 24 hours, without differentiating between civilians and combatants.
late on Wednesday the IDF said it had conducted an air strike in Beirut, without giving further details. A BBC reporter in the city said she had heard three big explosions one after the other.
It followed heavy air strikes in Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the previous night after the IDF issued several evacuation orders for areas around buildings it said were linked to the group.
On Wednesday morning, a BBC team was taken there on a media tour organised by Hezbollah to show the recent destruction.
Once a bustling district, Dahieh now looks like a ghost town. Shops have been closed, streets are deserted and most of its residents have left.
One of the sites on the tour was the headquarters of Sirat TV, which was hit on Monday. It was flattened, and nearby buildings were severely damaged, an indication of the power of the attack.
There was still smoke billowing from the rubble and a heavy smell in the air, while the sound of Israeli drones flying overhead could be heard.
There were several posters with the face of Hassan Nasrallah. One said: “None of our banners shall fall.”
Hezbollah says Israel has been hitting civilian buildings, not those used for military purposes. Israel accused the group of hiding weapons and ammunition in residential areas.
US and Israeli officials believe half of Hezbollah’s arsenal has been destroyed and its leadership has been dismantled.
But Mohammed Afif, a Hezbollah spokesman, remained defiant.
“I can say the resistance is swiftly recovering its strength,” he told the BBC. “The leadership of the resistance is well, its command-and-control structure is well, and its supply of rockets is well.”
“God willing, we will inflict defeat upon the Israeli enemy when they dare cross into Lebanon.”
As well as Dahieh, many people have fled two other regions where Hezbollah has a strong presence – the south and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Beirut’s Martyr’s Square has become a place where dozens of families have gathered, with nowhere to go.
Some tents have been set up near concrete walls, but many are sleeping on the steps of the nearby Mohammad al-Amin Mosque or on mattresses on the ground.
Mohammed, who is 55, arrived five days ago with his wife, his son and seven grandchildren. They were trying to move to a shelter, he said, but had not been able to find a place.
“We’ve got nowhere to go,” he said. Thanks to donations, they have been able to eat. But they are struggling without diapers, milk, and medicine.
Next to him, 26-year-old Mohammed had arrived with his three children.
He said he worked in Dahieh but that he lost his job because all its shops were closed. “There’s no work,” he said.