Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah said on Monday its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in eastern Lebanon during an Israeli airborne raid overnight, as the war between Israel and the Iran-backed group entered a second week.
Hezbollah claim and Israeli response
Hezbollah said its fighters “confronted the helicopters and the infiltrating forces with appropriate weapons” during the overnight operation.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the Hezbollah statement.
Background to the conflict
Lebanon was pulled into the regional war when Hezbollah, founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, opened fire to avenge the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader, igniting a new Israeli offensive against the group.
Israeli strikes in Beirut and warning to residents
The Israeli military kept up its airstrikes in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, sending plumes of smoke across the city.
It reiterated warnings to residents to leave, and announced it would act against a Hezbollah financial institution, Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
Reported casualties in Lebanon and Israel
Nearly 400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes since March 2, Lebanon’s health ministry reported on Sunday, including at least 83 children and 42 women.
The toll does not otherwise distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israel’s military announced on Sunday that two Israeli soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon, the first casualties in the Israeli army since the war began.
Details of the alleged airborne raid
Hezbollah said its fighters observed 15 helicopters flying over eastern Lebanon just after midnight, dropping Israeli troops who were observed approaching Lebanese territory from an area on the Syrian side of the border.
Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley region is one of the Shi’ite Muslim group’s political and security strongholds.
Previous raid near Nabi Chit
The Israeli military carried out an airborne raid in the same area, near the village of Nabi Chit, overnight Friday-Saturday.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 41 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the Nabi Chit area on Saturday.
What developments will follow the reported overnight clash in eastern Lebanon?