Israel says intense fighting has taken place with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

Israel said intense fighting took place with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, as Israeli paratroopers and commandos began raids there, following the launch of a ground incursion and devastating airstrikes against Hezbollah's leadership.

According to them, the air force and artillery supported the ground troops engaged in carrying out "limited, localized and targeted attacks from the ground" against Hezbollah in the villages of southern Lebanon, which posed a "threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel". , reports Reuters.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his country was facing "one of the most dangerous phases" in its history during a meeting at the UN, hours after Israeli troops crossed Lebanon's southern border.

Two Lebanese security sources said Israeli units crossed the Lebanese border overnight for reconnaissance and investigative operations. Lebanese troops have also been withdrawn from positions along the border, the source added.

Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had launched rocket and artillery attacks against Israeli troops inside Israel's border, but did not mention Israeli forces that crossed the border into Lebanon.

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The Israeli army has issued warnings to citizens not to move their vehicles from the north of the Litani River to the south. Earlier he said that he is trying to remove Hezbollah from the south of the river.

A senior security official has told the BBC that Israeli ground forces have come within a short distance of Lebanon and that so far there have been "no clashes".

"We are talking about targeting Hezbollah's rocket and artillery tracks, their infrastructure near communities in the north of Israel," the official said. 

"I can't tell you the exact numbers of troops, but I can tell you that they are not numbers to be a large land invasion", added the official, describing the intervention as "limited" and saying that no it is like Israeli operations in Gaza.

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Israel has inflicted heavy losses on Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy in the Middle East, by killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week, eliminating a towering figure who has turned the group into the world's most powerful force. high military and political of Lebanon.

Despite major successes against Hezbollah in decades, Israel has indicated that it is prepared for a full-scale invasion of Lebanon in order to safely return thousands of Israeli citizens who have fled Hezbollah attacks from their regions near the northern border.