Israel troops, Hezbollah fighters in close-range clashes in Lebanon

Ground ops come day after Israeli PM vows to retaliate against Iran for missile attack

BEIRUT – Israel and Hezbollah said they were fighting at close range in southern Lebanon on Oct 2, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against Iran for ballistic missiles it fired at Israel in an attack that has further set the region on edge.

The Israeli military said it engaged in close-range encounters with Hezbollah fighters in several areas in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah said its forces clashed with Israeli units that "infiltrated" the Lebanese towns of Maroun al-Ras, about 2km from the Israel-Lebanon border, and Adaisseh.

Eight Israeli soldiers have died, according to Israel, its first combat losses since launching cross-border raids earlier this week.

Lebanon said Israeli forces breached the Blue Line – the UN-patrolled boundary that separates Israel and the occupied Golan Heights from Lebanon – entering about 400m into southern Lebanon. Israel "withdrew after a short period", it said in a post on social media.

A spokesman for Hezbollah said the clashes on Oct 2 between its forces and the Israeli military are part of the "first round of war".

"Our forces and resistance fighters are fully prepared to confront and resist the enemy," Hezbollah's Mohammad Afif told reporters.

The Israeli military said regular infantry and armoured units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon.

It said these operations were largely aimed at destroying tunnels and other infrastructure on the border, and there were no plans for a wider operation targeting Beirut or major cities in southern Lebanon.

Yet, Israel renewed its bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, with at least a dozen air strikes against what it said were targets belonging to the group.