Hezbollah said on Friday that its fighters destroyed three Israeli tanks and that clashes continued, hours after Lebanese state media reported Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon that killed three people.
The fighting came a day after the United States and Iran signed an agreement aimed at ending the Middle East war across all fronts, including Lebanon.
The Iran-backed group said its fighters struck “three Merkava tanks with guided missiles,” causing their destruction and setting them on fire.
Hezbollah said the attack followed an Israeli advance involving “an armoured platoon and an infantry platoon” that attempted to push towards the northern side of the Ali al-Taher hills, a strategic area overlooking the town of Nabatieh.
“The clashes are still ongoing,” the group said in a statement issued early Friday.
Hezbollah said on Thursday that it was also fighting Israeli forces attempting to advance from Arnoun towards the outskirts of Kfar Tibnit, near Nabatieh.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Thursday that an Israeli drone strike targeted a car in Kfar Tibnit, killing two people. It also reported that another drone strike in the nearby village of Zebdine killed one more person.
Israel’s military said one of its soldiers was killed the previous night in southern Lebanon, while seven others were wounded in the same incident.
UN Secretary General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said peacekeepers in Lebanon reported continued exchanges of fire on Thursday.
He said 143 projectile trajectories were observed so far that day. Of these, 119 were attributed to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the rest to Hezbollah.
He added that 364 projectiles were observed on the previous day, including 330 attributed to the IDF and 34 to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah said it had earlier repelled a four-day Israeli offensive towards the Ali al-Taher hills and Kfar Tibnit, which it described as key positions linked to its military infrastructure.
The group said it used drones, rockets and artillery against Israeli troops and tanks, forcing them to retreat “under the cover of smoke screens and artillery fire during the night”.
Hezbollah parliamentary bloc chief Mohammad Raad said on Thursday that Israel’s campaign in Lebanon had “failed” to eliminate the group.
He also urged Lebanese authorities to adopt a framework for indirect negotiations with Israel to stop the fighting.
He said Israel must fully comply with any cessation of hostilities “on land, at sea and in the air” and begin withdrawal within 60 days, without direct negotiations.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it would continue operations in southern Lebanon even after the US-Iran agreement.
It released a map showing a so-called security zone extending about 10 kilometres inside Lebanese territory, including areas where Hezbollah said it had engaged Israeli forces.
The army said it would remain in the zone “to remove threats and strengthen the defence of Israel’s northern residents”.
An Israeli military official later said forces would continue operations to eliminate threats to soldiers and civilians identified beyond the security zone.
