Hezbollah reports:

First battles with Israeli ground troops in Lebanon

A picture from northern Israel along the border with southern Lebanon shows billows of smoke over the Lebanese village of Yaron during the Israeli bombardment on October 2, 2024.

(Bild: AFP )

For the first time since the announced start of the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon, the Shiite militia Hezbollah has reported direct fighting with Israeli ground troops. 

According to Hezbollah, the latter had attempted to enter the Lebanese town of Odaisseh directly on the border with Israel. Its members had "fought" with Israeli infantry forces at dawn. There were casualties on the Israeli side.

"Israeli unit forced to retreat"
Fighters from the pro-Iranian militia had confronted an "enemy Israeli infantry unit" that had attempted to enter the Lebanese village of Odaisseh, Hezbollah said. There had been clashes. The Hezbollah fighters were able to force the Israeli unit to retreat.

Current images of the conflict:

(Bild: AFP , Krone KREATIV)

(Bild: AFP , Krone KREATIV)

Many people mourn their loved ones.

(Bild: AFP )

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system over the Upper Galilee region.

(Bild: AFP )

(Bild: AFP )

(Bild: AFP )

A woman in Dahiyeh, Beirut

(Bild: AP)

An Israeli Apache helicopter drops flares near the Israeli-Lebanese border.

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AP)

"Large infantry unit"
Hezbollah fighters also attacked a "large infantry unit" in the Israeli town of Misgav Am "with rockets and artillery", the militia said. At three other locations, further troop concentrations were fired upon, for example with Burkan-type rockets, which can have enormous explosive power.

Nachlese

Die jüngsten Ergeignisse im Nahost-Konflikt

• The Israeli army declared early Wednesday morning that it had once again attacked Hezbollah targets. Lebanese security sources reported that the Israeli army had carried out two attacks in the south of the capital Beirut.
• The Israeli attacks followed rocket attacks by Iran on Israel. It was Tehran's second direct missile attack on Israel. In April, Iran had fired hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. A "large number" of the missiles were intercepted.
• According to the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian attacks were a reaction to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on Friday. Iran also accuses Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the radical Islamic Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, in Tehran at the end of July.

• The Cypriot government says it is ready to support evacuation operations from the Middle East. A mechanism that allows nationals of other nations to be brought to safety via the Mediterranean island has been fully activated.

• Many flights from the Lebanese capital Beirut have been canceled or are fully booked. According to media reports, a crossing from Beirut to Agia Napa, around 180 kilometers away, will cost between 1000 and 1500 euros per person. Around 30 boats have arrived there so far.
• Pope Francis has called for worldwide fasting and prayer for peace on October 7. "I ask everyone for a day of fasting and prayer for peace in the world next Monday," said the Pontiff at the opening service of the World Synod on Wednesday in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke on the phone with European counterparts immediately after his country's missile attack on Israel. He held talks with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Great Britain and other countries, as reported by the Iranian news agency IRNA.

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel had broken out again following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. Immediately after the Hamas attack, Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel with regular rocket attacks from Lebanon.