Hezbollah said Wednesday it clashed with Israeli soldiers who tried to infiltrate into Lebanon, and also targeted Israeli troops across the border, according to statements from the Lebanese group.
Hezbollah fighters confronted “an Israeli enemy infantry force that tried to infiltrate into the village of Adaysseh… and clashed with them”, a statement said, adding separately that Hezbollah fighters also targeted Israeli forces at three different points across the border with rockets and artillery.
Israeli military said early Tuesday that troops had started “targeted ground raids” in south Lebanon, across Israel’s northern border.
The move came despite growing calls for de-escalation after a week of air strikes that killed hundreds in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health ministry said later that the latest Israeli strikes had killed a further 55 people on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s disaster management agency said 1,873 people had been killed since Israel and Hezbollah began trading cross-border fire after the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023.
Iran has said Nasrallah’s killing would bring about Israel’s “destruction”, though its foreign ministry said Monday that Tehran would not deploy any troops to confront Israel.
Israel threatened Wednesday to retaliate after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at its territory, with Tehran warning it would hit “all infrastructure” in Israel if it comes under attack.
Israel vowed it would make Iran “pay” after the attack late Tuesday, which saw most of the missiles intercepted, and pledged to immediately strike “the Middle East powerfully”.
President Joe Biden said the United States was “fully supportive” of Israel after the missile attack, adding that he would discuss a response with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Pentagon said Washington was boosting its forces in the Middle East by a “few thousand” troops.