Jerusalem:
The Israeli military announced Wednesday that eight soldiers were killed in combat operations in Lebanon, the first losses since Israeli forces crossed the border to target Hezbollah. Earlier today, Israeli army captain Eitan Itzhak was killed in action, Israel’s first combat loss during ground operations in Lebanon.
“After announcing the death of one soldier in Lebanon early in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (Israel Armed Forces) announced the deaths of seven more soldiers,” the statement said.
“Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22 years old… fell during combat in Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
A military website announced that Oster was killed on Wednesday, but gave no further details.
Hezbollah said its fighters were clashing with Israeli forces that had “infiltrated” villages on its southern border.
The group earlier said Israeli soldiers tried to enter the northeastern border village of Adaise, forcing them to retreat.
It is the first time Iran-backed groups have announced fighting on Lebanese soil since escalation began in recent weeks when Israeli forces began attacking southern Lebanon and later killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike. is.
“This is just the beginning of the conflict,” Hezbollah spokesman Mohammad Afif told the media during a tour of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
“The southern resistance is at the highest level of readiness,” he added, referring to Hezbollah fighters.
The Lebanese army also announced that Israeli forces had temporarily breached the border between the two countries.
The newspaper reported that “Israel’s enemy forces penetrated the Blue Line by approximately 400 meters (yards) into Lebanese territory in two areas” and “then withdrew a short time later.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military called for the evacuation of additional areas in southern Lebanon and instructed residents to leave more than 20 villages and towns in southern Lebanon.
The move came a day after the Israeli military issued a similar evacuation call as it announced the start of a ground operation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)