Hezbollah announces the killing of 55 Israeli soldiers and launches a new phase in its confrontation with the occupation

On Thursday evening, the Lebanese Hezbollah announced the launch of a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with the Israeli occupation army in response to the aggression it has intensified against Lebanon since September 23.

He said in a statement, "His elements continue to inflict heavy losses on the Israeli occupation army in terms of equipment and the number of officers and soldiers, along the confrontation axes at the front edge in southern Lebanon, all the way to its locations deep inside occupied Palestine."

Hezbollah said it was about to "move to a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy, which will be discussed in the coming days," adding that "the enemy's losses (during the ground incursion) amounted to about 55 dead and more than 500 wounded officers and soldiers of the Israeli enemy army, in addition to the destruction of 20 Merkava tanks, 4 military bulldozers, an armored vehicle, and a personnel carrier, and the downing of two Hermes 450 drones."

Hezbollah indicated that "according to previously prepared field plans," its fighters confronted "the enemy forces in the vicinity and inside some Lebanese villages, by targeting the paths of advance, and luring these forces into some advanced ambushes inside some border villages."

He stressed that "violent clashes took place with the enemy at zero distance, especially in the towns of Al-Qawzah (Bint Jbeil district) and Rab Thalathin (Marjeyoun district), which resulted in the enemy suffering 10 dead and more than 150 wounded, and the destruction of 9 Merkava tanks and 4 military bulldozers."

The occupation admits the killing of its soldiers

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli occupation army announced the killing of five soldiers from the Golani Brigade, one of the elite brigades, in fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters in a village in southern Lebanon yesterday, Wednesday.

On Wednesday, a soldier from the 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade was seriously wounded in fighting elsewhere in southern Lebanon. In another battle in southern Lebanon on Thursday, a reserve officer and three reserve soldiers from the 8173rd Battalion of the Etzioni Brigade were seriously wounded.

Initial investigations indicated that a Golani patrol force entered yesterday at 5 p.m. to search a multi-story building in a Lebanese village near the border in the western sector. The force was directed to reach the building in order to monitor a Hezbollah military structure after it was bombed from the air.

After about half an hour of combing the building, in which the occupation army claimed that its soldiers found several wells used for storing weapons and underground shelters, they were surprised by gunfire, as four Hezbollah fighters managed to hide in the building and opened fire from close range on the soldiers inside the building.

According to Israeli media, the soldiers returned fire and engaged in a battle that ended with the elimination of Hezbollah elements, but at a heavy price: five dead, including a commander from the elite unit, and five wounded, three of whom were seriously injured, and two others with minor to moderate injuries. Among the wounded was the deputy commander of the patrol.

Three soldiers were confirmed dead at the scene and two in the hospital. Fire support forces covered the area with fire to isolate the scene in order to rescue the wounded by three air force helicopters, who transferred them to a hospital in Israel within about an hour.

The occupation army is currently investigating how the resistance fighters were not detected during the combing operations of the building, after the initial investigation showed that the force entered the building while firing, in a professional manner.

It is noteworthy that Golani soldiers have been carrying out military operations in southern Lebanon for about two weeks, first in the village of Maroun al-Ras and its surroundings, and in recent days they have headed to other villages "in order to remove the threat of an invasion of Israel by the Radwan forces affiliated with Hezbollah," according to what the army recently announced.

The occupation army claimed that in recent days they were able to arrest a number of Hezbollah members, discover and destroy hundreds of advanced weapons and ammunition belonging to the party near the border, at a short distance from the settlements in the Western Galilee, and were able to eliminate more than 10 Hezbollah fighters.

On Wednesday, a soldier from the 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade was seriously wounded in fighting elsewhere in southern Lebanon. In another battle in southern Lebanon today, a reserve officer and three reserve soldiers from the 8173rd Battalion of the Etzioni Brigade were seriously wounded.

(Agencies + Al-Araby Al-Jadeed)