Over 100 Hezbollah operatives have been killed and around 200 terror targets have been struck over the past day during Israel's joint ground and air assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to reports on Israeli media on Thursday.
According to a report on Walla, forces from Divisions 36 and 98 had trasnferred a large amount of weapons from Lebanon to Israel, including missiles, guns, ammunitions, and mortar bombs. Additionally, Walla reported that since the beginning of the ground operation in Lebanon, the IDF had killed over 100 terrorists in various skirmishes.
Military officials clarified that the combination of infantry and armored forces gave a significant advantage in the fight against Hezbollah.
Reserve military sources said that Division 36, under the command of Moran Omer, successfully located and destroyed Hezbollah rocket and anti-tank missile launch sites that had targeted northern communities over the past year.
Additionally, many Hezbollah operatives were forced to retreat and abandon a forward line of combat sites due to heavy aerial fire and massive artillery bombardment by the artillery corps.
Strike in Lebanon
The strike was the first of its kind in the area since 2006, reports noted. Shortly after the strikes were reported, two drones were identified crossing into Israeli territory from Lebanon, the IDF announced.
One of the drones was intercepted off the coast near the northern Israeli city of Nahariya, while the other fell in an open area. Neither triggered alert sirens, and no injuries were reported, the military said.
Subsequently, the IDF identified 25 Hezbollah rockets that crossed from Lebanon, some of which were intercepted by the IDF.
Fires break out across Israel-Lebanon border following rocket barrage
Some of those not intercepted crashed into open areas across northern Israel, igniting several fires, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel's Fire and Rescue Service has reportedly extinguished a forest fire in Haifa, though a fire in Shlomi forest has yet to be contained.
However, according to later reports on Israeli media, fires also broke out in Kabri and Hanita, where firefighters have not contained the fire as of yet.
The military said that IAF fighter jets, under the direction of the Northern Command, responded by attacking about 200 Hezbollah terror targets, targeting military buildings, observation posts, terrorist infrastructure, and weapon warehouses in addition to terrorists themselves.
Hezbollah said that it confronted an attempt by the IDF to advance on the Fatima Gate at the Lebanese border on Thursday morning, adding that it used artillery shelling in an attempt to halt Israeli forces.
IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee announced that more than 20 villages across southern Lebanon were being called on to evacuate as the military's ground operation against Hezbollah continued.
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— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 3, 2024