Eight Israeli troops killed in fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon

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Eight ******** troops ******* in fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon

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Smoke rises following an ******** strike in Kafr Kila, in southern Lebanon

*******’s military says eight of its soldiers have been ******* in combat in southern Lebanon, its first losses since the start of the ground invasion against the armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, said it had destroyed ******** tanks during the fighting and insisted it had enough men and ammunition to push back the forces.

Earlier, the ******** military announced that more infantry and armoured troops had joined the operation seeking to dismantle what it called “********** infrastructure” in Lebanese border villages.

Meanwhile, at least five people ***** and eight were wounded in an ******** military air strike in the Bachoura area in central Beirut, Lebanese officials said.

The multi-storey building targeted housed a Hezbollah-affiliated health centre and is just metres away from Lebanon’s parliament and ******* Nations Regional Headquarters.

This is the first ******** strike so close to the centre of Beirut, with other attacks overnight hitting the southern suburb of Dahieh.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, Lebanon’s health ministry said 46 people had been ******* and 85 wounded in ******** strikes on the country in the last 24 hours, without differentiating between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah has been weakened after two weeks of ******** strikes and other attacks that have ******* more than 1,200 people across Lebanon and displaced around 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities.

******* has gone on the offensive after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wants to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah attacks.

Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon. It is designated as a ********** organisation by *******, the US, the *** and other countries.

On the second full day of their ground invasion into Lebanon, ******** troops encountered Hezbollah fighters for the first time.

The ******* Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that soldiers backed by aircraft had “eliminated terrorists and dismantled ********** infrastructure through precision-guided munitions and close-range engagements” in several southern Lebanese areas.

Later, the IDF announced that eight troops had been ******* in action. Most were commandos from the elite Egoz and Golani Reconnaissance units.

Six were reportedly ambushed by Hezbollah fighters and another two were ******* by mortar *****.

Hezbollah said dozens of its fighters had fired ani-tank missiles at ******** commandos, ******** and wounding dozens of them, during clashes early on Wednesday in one border village.

It also claimed that other troops were targeted with explosives and gunfire on the outskirts of Kafr Kila, and that three ******** Merkava tanks were destroyed by missiles near Maroun al-Ras.

Hezbollah has spent years building infrastructure in southern Lebanon that includes extensive underground tunnels. It also has thousands of fighters, who know the area well.

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Paying tribute to the eight soldiers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had fallen ”in the midst of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to ******** us”.

“This will not happen, because we will stand together, and with ****’s help, we will win together,” he added.

******** air defences were also in action again a day after they repelled the vast majority of the more than 180 ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards ******* on Tuesday night in retaliation for the ******** air strike in Beirut last Friday that ******* Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a top Iranian commander.

More than 240 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards northern ******* throughout Wednesday, according to the IDF.

Netanyahu insists that the ground offensive in Lebanon will degrade Hezbollah’s capability and push its fighters back, eventually allowing about 60,000 Israelis to return to their homes near the border.

Meanwhile US President Joe Biden said

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. He added that the US “will be discussing with the Israelis what they’re gonna do” in response to the Iranian barrage.

Lebanon: BBC reporter at scene of Beirut missile strike

The overnight air strikes in Beirut follows heavy strikes in Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the previous night after the IDF issued several evacuation orders for areas around buildings it said were linked to the group.

On Wednesday morning, a BBC team was taken there on a media tour organised by Hezbollah to show the recent destruction.

Once a bustling district, Dahieh now looks like a ghost town. Shops have been closed, streets are deserted and most of its residents have left.

One of the sites on the tour was the headquarters of Sirat TV, which was hit on Monday. It was flattened, and nearby buildings were severely damaged, an indication of the power of the *******.

There was still smoke billowing from the rubble and a heavy smell in the air, while the sound of ******** drones flying overhead could be heard.

There were several posters with the face of Hassan Nasrallah. One said: “None of our banners shall fall.”

Hezbollah says ******* has been hitting civilian buildings, not those used for military purposes. ******* accused the group of hiding weapons and ammunition in residential areas.

US and ******** officials believe half of Hezbollah’s arsenal has been destroyed and its leadership has been dismantled.

But Mohammed Afif, a Hezbollah spokesman, remained defiant.

“I can say the resistance is swiftly recovering its strength,” he told the BBC. “The leadership of the resistance is well, its command-and-control structure is well, and its supply of rockets is well.”

“**** willing, we will inflict defeat upon the ******** ****** when they dare cross into Lebanon.”

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Mohammed’s family is one of dozens seeking shelter in Beirut’s Martyr’s Square

As well as Dahieh, many people have fled two other regions where Hezbollah has a strong presence – the south and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Beirut’s Martyr’s Square has become a place where dozens of families have gathered, with nowhere to go.

Some tents have been set up near concrete walls, but many are sleeping on the steps of the nearby Mohammad al-Amin Mosque or on mattresses on the ground.

Mohammed, who is 55, arrived five days ago with his wife, his son and seven grandchildren. They were trying to move to a shelter, he said, but had not been able to find a place.

“We’ve got nowhere to go,” he said. Thanks to donations, they have been able to eat. But they are struggling without diapers, milk, and medicine.

Next to him, 26-year-old Mohammed had arrived with his three children.

He said he worked in Dahieh but that he lost his job because all its shops were closed. “There’s no work,” he said.

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