Israel claims that troops are engaged in “offensive action” in southern Lebanon

Jerusalem: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday that Israeli soldiers are engaged in “offensive action” in southern Lebanon; however, he did not clarify whether ground forces have crossed the border.
A statement from Gallant claimed that “half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated” amid months of warfare. “Many forces are deployed on the border and IDF (army) forces are carrying out offensive action currently throughout southern Lebanon,” the statement said.

He said, “The other half are in hiding and are leaving the field to IDF operations,” without mentioning a precise figure.

The army claimed to have hit 40 Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon in a different statement.

The statement said, “A short while ago, IDF (army) fighter jets and artillery struck approximately 40 Hezbollah terror targets” in and around Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, including weapons and storage sites.

The Israeli army said that Hezbollah “has established dozens of terror means and infrastructures in the area” in preparation for an assault on Israel.

Israel has reportedly carried out more than 13 attacks close to Aita al-Shaab and the neighboring villages, according to the state-run National News Agency of Lebanon.

“Israeli warplanes carried out more than 13 air strikes targeting the outskirts of the towns of Aita al-Shaab, Ramya, Jabal Balat, and Khallet Warda,” stated the statement.

Following an attack that was attributed to Israel and claimed the lives of two people, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for firing a new round of rockets over the border on Wednesday.

Late on Tuesday, the organization had already launched rockets toward northern Israel “in response” to the deaths of civilians.

The Israeli army and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been exchanging gunfire across their borders ever since Hamas’s onslaught on Israel on October 7th set off a conflict in Gaza.

An AFP count indicates that since October 7, at least 380 people have died in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah combatants but also 72 civilians.

On its side of the border, Israel reports that eight civilians and eleven troops have died.