Hezbollah announces the killing of 35 Israeli soldiers and Tel Aviv comments
Washington confirmed that it cannot solve the crisis in Lebanon
The Lebanese Hezbollah confirmed on Tuesday that its fighters are resisting the attempts of elite units in the Israeli army that are trying to advance in the border areas across southern Lebanon.
According to a statement by Hezbollah published on its Telegram channel: "At least 35 Israeli soldiers and officers were killed during the clashes, and about 200 others were wounded."
Israel bombs Lebanon
The text stated that the "enemy" is still unable to gain a foothold on Lebanese territory and occupy some southern villages, according to the Russian TASS Agency.
Earlier, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority published video footage on Tuesday showing Israeli soldiers raising the Israeli flag on a dilapidated site in the town of Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon.
Destroying tunnels and sites
The Israeli army said earlier that it had succeeded in dismantling underground tunnels and destroying Hezbollah sites, adding, "We eliminated hundreds of Hezbollah elements in southern Lebanon."
The Israeli army said in a statement that the 98th Division, including the Paratroopers Brigade, the Commando Brigade, the 7th Brigade and soldiers from the Yahalom Unit, carried out specific operations against Hezbollah strongholds along the border in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army announced that the air force targeted a number of Hezbollah sites in Beirut on the night of October 8. According to the army's media office, the targets of the strikes were a weapons depot and other infrastructure facilities used by Hezbollah.
Limited ground operations
Before that, the Israeli army said in a statement that the 146th Division forces began carrying out what it described as limited and targeted ground operations yesterday, Monday, against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure in the western sector of southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army declared four areas in the north closed military zones as of yesterday evening, and prevented entry to these areas.
The US State Department considered that the Israeli ground operations in Lebanon are still limited so far according to its assessment.
It added that Washington expects Israel to target Hezbollah in Lebanon in a manner that adheres to international humanitarian law and minimizes civilian casualties.
The Israeli army issued a statement saying that it will soon launch military operations on the southern coast of Lebanon, calling on fishermen and seafarers in the Awali River area in the south to stay away from the beach until further notice.
The United States speaks about the crisis
For his part, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed that the United States cannot resolve the political crisis in Lebanon, and that this falls on the Lebanese leaders.
This comes as Hezbollah announced that it targeted a base belonging to the Israeli military intelligence near Tel Aviv, shortly after the Israeli army announced the activation of sirens in the center of the country after detecting missiles from Lebanon.
The party said in a statement that its fighters fired a number of rockets at the Glilot base of the "Military Intelligence Unit 8200" on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, in response "to the targeting of the southern suburbs of Beirut."
The Israeli army also confirmed that the Iron Dome intercepted some of the rockets out of five launched from southern Lebanon, while the rest fell in an open area following the alerts that were activated in several areas in central Israel.
Attacks on Haifa
The Israeli army clarified that there was no change in the directives of the Home Front Command.
Hezbollah launched a series of attacks on military sites in northern Israel, including an attack north of the city of Haifa, which resulted in the injury of 10 Israelis.
Hezbollah instructed its fighters not to target Israeli forces near a base of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the border town of Maroun al-Ras. The party also accused Israel of using peacekeepers as human shields.
