STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT- Hezbollah fighters clashed with Israeli forces in the early hours today, marking the first direct engagement since the occupation army launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon.
According to Hezbollah, an Israeli infantry force attempted to infiltrate the town of Odaisseh, located in the Marjeyoun district at dawn. Fierce confrontations ensued, with the Lebanese resistance movement claiming to have inflicted losses on the Israeli forces, forcing them to retreat.
Hezbollah said the operation was “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in solidarity with its brave and honourable resistance, as well as in defence of Lebanon and its people.”
According to Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah “executed a well-planned ambush” against a group of Israeli soldiers who were preparing to infiltrate from Odaisseh and Kfar Kila. The outlet reported that dozens of “elite” Israeli soldiers were wounded, and their cries were heard throughout the area.
Fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border intensified in the aftermath of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and a bombing campaign in Beirut by the occupation army. Israeli media described the latest border confrontation as an “extremely difficult event”, noting the use of helicopters to evacuate wounded soldiers from the scene. The event also coincided with Hezbollah ally Iran launching hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israeli sites.
