Hezbollah's Border Offensive Pushes Back Israeli Forces
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces are engaged in intense border clashes, with Israel reporting substantial military casualties, as Hezbollah continues its attacks in support of Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
Hand-to-hand combat between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers in border areas has resulted in hundreds of Israeli casualties, with many soldiers reported dead or injured in recent days, according to the Israeli military.
Despite nearly two weeks of attempts to penetrate Lebanon’s border regions, Israeli forces have been repeatedly pushed back by Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah released its seventh statement on Tuesday, saying: “In support of the resilient Palestinian people in Gaza, and to back their brave and honorable resistance, while defending Lebanon and its people, Hezbollah fighters targeted Israeli forces at 6:20 a.m. with machine guns and rockets as Israeli infantry attempted to infiltrate the eastern outskirts of the town of Rubb Thalathin. The clashes are ongoing.”
Israeli forces, facing heavy casualties during their efforts to invade Lebanon, have been forced to retreat multiple times. Hezbollah said that during this period, hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been killed or wounded in ground clashes.
Strict military censorship in Israel has prevented the publication of accurate casualty figures, but Hebrew media reported that 16 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 305 wounded since ground operations began in southern Lebanon. However, sources familiar with the situation suggest the true number of Israeli casualties is much higher. Images showing Israeli military helicopters evacuating the dead and wounded from the Lebanese border further support these claims.
Hezbollah has issued a series of statements outlining its ongoing missile strikes against Israeli military centers and northern Israel, emphasizing that its fighters continue to target Israeli infantry along the Lebanese border. Early on Tuesday, Hezbollah issued eight separate statements detailing its operations against Israeli forces.
In its first statement, Hezbollah announced: “In support of the resilient Palestinian people in Gaza, and to defend Lebanon and its people, Hezbollah fighters targeted Israeli soldiers at the Al-Baghdadi military center with missiles at 11:45 p.m. on Monday night.”
In subsequent statements, Hezbollah described a series of missile attacks against Israeli positions in Al-Marj, Khaleh Warda, Al-Sadanah, and Birkat Al-Naqqar, with the most recent strikes taking place early on Tuesday morning. The resistance group reported missile attacks on Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel at 6:00 a.m.
Hezbollah's seventh statement, issued later in the day, repeated its message of support for Palestinian resistance and defense of Lebanon, noting that clashes continued as Israeli infantry attempted to infiltrate the eastern outskirts of Rubb Thalathin.
In its eighth statement of the day, Hezbollah said that it thwarted Israeli forces’ movements near the Al-Marj military center and struck them with missiles at 6:25 a.m.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, is expected to deliver a speech this afternoon.
Al-Manar TV stated that the timing of the speech would be announced later. This will be Sheikh Qassem’s third address since the martyrdom of Hezbollah leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah.
He is expected to discuss the recent developments in the conflict, including Hezbollah's decisive blow to the Israeli military's Golani Brigade in Haifa.