Hezbollah reports engaging Israeli forces that have landed in eastern Lebanon.
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hezbollah announced on Monday that it was engaged in combat with Israeli forces who had infiltrated eastern Lebanon via helicopter from the Syrian border, marking the second such operation since the commencement of the recent confrontation with Israel.
Lebanon became embroiled in the Middle East conflict last week when Hezbollah launched an assault on Israel following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli airstrikes.
Despite a 2024 ceasefire, Israel has continued to conduct strikes against Hezbollah, executing multiple rounds of attacks across Lebanon last week and deploying ground troops into border regions.
On Monday, Hezbollah announced that it has identified the incursion of around 15 Israeli helicopters from the Syrian border into eastern Lebanon, a region under Hezbollah’s influence.
The group stated that its combatants “engaged the helicopters and the infiltrating force with suitable weaponry, and the confrontation” was ongoing.
The National News Agency (NNA) of Lebanon previously reported “intense confrontations… on the periphery of Nabi Sheet to thwart Israeli forces that executed a helicopter landing” in the vicinity.
Two Hezbollah officials in the Bekaa region, where Nabi Sheet is situated, said AFP that an Israeli helicopter was shot down.
The Israeli military refrained from providing an immediate response to the incident.
This is the second attack following an Israeli commando operation in Nabi Sheet and its vicinity on Friday night, which failed to locate the remains of Ron Arad, an airman missing since 1986, resulting in 41 fatalities.
Attacks in Beirut
An AFP correspondent reported a loud explosion in Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday, accompanied by visible smoke emanating from the vicinity.
The Israeli military issued a concise statement indicating that it had “targeted infrastructure associated with the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Beirut.”
The region was bombarded by Israel over the preceding week but had not experienced any strikes since Saturday.
The military instructed inhabitants of the Beirut suburbs and southern Lebanon, both Hezbollah strongholds, to evacuate, cautioning of impending assaults on the militant organization.
The NNA reported multiple strikes early Monday, including one on the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city of Tyre, which resulted in an initial toll of three civilians killed and 15 others injured.
Hezbollah announced on Monday that it aimed artillery shells toward Israeli soldiers entering the towns of Odaisseh and Aitaroun, situated near the Israeli border.
It also reported a confrontation with Israeli forces in Odaisseh.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine announced on Sunday that Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have resulted in 394 fatalities over the past week, comprising 83 children and 42 women.