Clashes erupt along Lebanon-Israel border as Israeli forces advance in S. Lebanon

BEIRUT, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Several points along the border area in southern Lebanon witnessed intense clashes in the morning hours on Tuesday between the Israeli army and Hezbollah members, according to security and military sources.

The sources said that Israeli forces supported by several Merkava tanks and armored personnel carriers attempted to advance in the early hours of dawn toward the border towns of Khiam and Aitaroun and the villages of Taybeh, Adaisseh, and Rab al-Thalatheen.

Hezbollah members confronted these attempts, and fierce clashes broke out between the two sides that continued until the morning hours, they added.

The sources confirmed to Xinhua that the Israeli army advanced and established positions at multiple border points situated 1-2.5 km from the Blue Line, which separates Lebanon and Israel.

For its part, Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military positions near the border in response to Israeli shelling.

The group claimed it has lured Israeli forces into an ambush and struck them with appropriate weapons, destroying three Merkava tanks. Its members also targeted Israeli soldiers at multiple locations: the Khanouq area in Aitaroun, Kahil Hill on the eastern outskirts of Maroun al-Ras, a newly-established artillery position in Markaba, and the Malikiya site with several rocket barrages.

In Israel, the group said, it struck a military base southeast of Tel Aviv, the Giv'a drone control base east of the city of Safed, Yiftah barracks, and Tziporit base east of Haifa.

Hezbollah announced the launch of rockets from Lebanon toward Israel at dawn on March 2 for the first time since a ceasefire was declared on Nov. 27, 2024. Israel subsequently launched what it described as an "offensive military campaign" against the group, including heavy airstrikes targeting Beirut's southern suburbs and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon. ■