UPDATE - Hezbollah 'confirmed' casualties among Israeli soldiers

ADDS ISRAEL'S RESPONSE IN GRAFS 5-7

By Wassim Seif El Din

BEIRUT (AA) - Hezbollah said Saturday it dealt the Israeli army "confirmed" casualties in a cross-border attack on two military barracks.

The Lebanese group said in a statement that its members launched guided missiles "at a Humvee vehicle belonging to the occupation forces in the vicinity of the Dovif barracks, resulting in casualties among its crew, including killed and injured."

"As an Israeli tank advanced towards the targeted site, the (Hezbollah) fighters targeted it with guided missiles," it added.

In a separate statement, the group noted members targeted an Israeli infantry unit "in the occupied Hunin barracks (Rameem)" and confirmed there were casualties on the Israeli side.

The Israeli army announced earlier Saturday that militants had fired an anti-tank missile from southern Lebanon toward the Rameem area.

It later admitted that three soldiers were injured, including one who was seriously wounded.

The Israeli army said warplanes struck a series of positions belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in response to the attacks.

Tensions have flared along the Israeli-Lebanese border amid an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.

The escalation came amid Israeli airstrikes against the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, into Israeli border towns.

At least 4,385 Palestinians, including 1,756 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. The figure stands at more than 1,400 in Israel.

Hezbollah has fought several wars with Israel, the latest of which was in 2006, during which the Lebanese group struck major Israeli cities with rockets, causing significant property damage.

More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in the conflict, while much of southern Lebanon -- a Hezbollah stronghold -- was devastated by Israeli attacks.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala and Ahmed Asmar