By Wassim Saifeddine
BEIRUT (AA) - Hezbollah said Wednesday it detonated an explosive device against an Israeli force that attempted to infiltrate the town of Yaroun in southern Lebanon, “inflicting casualties among its members.”
The Lebanese resistance group said in a statement that “while an Israeli force was trying to circumvent Yaroun from a forested area, it was ambushed by Islamic Resistance fighters who detonated a specially designed explosive device.”
It indicated that the explosion resulted in casualties among all members of the Israeli unit.
Hezbollah reported earlier ongoing clashes with Israeli soldiers infiltrating the town of Maroun al-Ras from the east, inflicting several injuries.
The group stated that it repelled an Israeli infantry force trying to enter the town of Odaisseh, engaging them in combat and forcing a retreat.
Israeli sources revealed to Sky News Arabia that 14 Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes that occurred Wednesday in southern Lebanon, although the information has not been confirmed by Tel Aviv.
While the acknowledgment comes from Israeli sources, the military stated that an Israeli officer was killed in fighting in Lebanon following the army's incursion across the border to target Hezbollah positions.
Israel has launched massive airstrikes since Sept. 23 against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,000 victims and injured over 2,950, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The top leadership of Hezbollah was killed in the Israeli assaults, including leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,600 victims, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last October.
The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala