Hezbollah Foils Israeli Ground Incursion Attempts

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Hezbollah announced that it had thwarted, shortly after midnight on Tuesday into Wednesday, two attempts by Israeli forces to infiltrate the border, following the announcement by the Jewish state of its expanded ground operations in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army admitted that three of its soldiers had been seriously wounded during ongoing military operations.

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Israel commenced an intensive airstrike campaign in Lebanon on September 23, claiming to target Hezbollah positions, and announced on September 30 the start of “limited and focused” ground operations at the border. The Israeli state confirmed on Tuesday the expansion of these operations to include areas in southwestern Lebanon.

The airstrikes over the past two weeks have resulted in the deaths of over a thousand people in various regions, according to Lebanese authorities. Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues to fire rockets towards northern Israel and claims to have repelled border infiltration attempts.

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The party stated in a communiqué that its fighters had, at 00:15 (21:15 GMT on Tuesday), “detonated an explosive device against Israeli enemy soldiers and engaged with them during their infiltration attempt into the town of Bledaa.”

In a separate statement, it indicated that its forces targeted an Israeli unit “with artillery shells and rocket fire” during its advance attempt “at 4:55 (01:55 GMT)” on Wednesday towards the Labouna area in the southwest of the country. Hezbollah also announced that it had targeted Israeli forces with a rocket salvo while they were advancing from the Tofa plain towards the towns of Mays al-Jabal and Muhaibib in southern Lebanon.

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For its part, the Israeli army stated in a communiqué that three of its personnel had sustained “serious injuries” in battles in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli Channel “12,” adding that “the soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and their families were notified.”

Israeli media outlets, including Channel 12, revealed that Shmuel Buchris, chief advisor to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, was injured during battles in southern Lebanon. The Israeli site 0404 confirmed that Buchris was wounded during a confrontation in southern Lebanon.

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Israeli media sources have disclosed that four Israelis were injured, both seriously and moderately, on Wednesday due to the fall of rockets launched from Lebanon on Haifa and its bay.

The Israeli Red Star stated in a press release that “following the recent bombardments on the Haifa and Kiryot area, reports indicated that two individuals were seriously injured due to falling debris,” noting that two others with moderate injuries were being treated elsewhere.

Israeli Channel 14 reported a heavy barrage of rockets launched at the city of Haifa and its bay, confirming that dozens of explosions were heard in the area due to the launch of 30 rockets from Lebanon. Additionally, the Israeli bombardments caused power outages in some areas of Kiryat Bialik near Haifa due to damage to the network from the rockets.

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The party announced on Tuesday that it had repelled an Israeli force that “had infiltrated” behind a site of the United Nations peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) in Labouna, a day after stating that it had ordered its fighters to “exercise restraint” in targeting the movements of Israeli soldiers behind another site of the international force.

UNIFIL warned on Sunday of an “extremely grave development” as Israeli military operations approached its site.

Israeli army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani stated on Tuesday: “We maintain ongoing discussions and permanent contact with UNIFIL to ensure they do not find themselves in the line of fire between us and Hezbollah.”

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UNIFIL urged in a statement on Saturday both Lebanon and Israel to “reaffirm their commitment to Security Council Resolution 1701, through actions and not just words, as the only viable solution to restore stability in the region.”

Resolution 1701 established a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah following the devastating war they fought in the summer of 2006. UNIFIL’s deployment in southern Lebanon has been reinforced.

In accordance with this resolution, the Lebanese army has been deployed for the first time in decades at the border with Israel to prevent any “illegal” military presence on it.

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The Israeli army stated that it had sent the 146th division to southern Lebanon, marking the first deployment of reservists beyond the border, and that it had expanded its ground operations against Hezbollah from southeast to southwest Lebanon.

A military spokesperson declined to disclose the number of troops present in Lebanon at any given time. However, the army had previously announced that three other army divisions were operating there, indicating that thousands of soldiers are likely on the ground in Lebanon.