Israeli troops infiltrate southern Lebanese villages: source

BEIRUT -- Israeli troops crossed the Lebanese border on Wednesday, advancing towards the villages of Adaisseh and Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese security source told Xinhua.

"The Israeli army opened an iron gate positioned on the concrete wall erected on the borderline separating Lebanon and Israel and advanced about 200 meters towards the eastern entrance of Adaisseh," said the security source.

The source added that "an Israeli infantry force of about 15 members crossed the gate, followed by three Merkava tanks, while several Israeli drones were flying in the airspace."

Israeli tanks were stationed on the road linking the villages of Kafr Kila and Adaisseh, and the Israeli infantry force was on patrol about 300 meters away from the eastern edge of Adaisseh, according to the source.

The source noted that the Israeli force withdrew after staying for about an hour.

In addition, the source reported that clashes broke out between Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli troops who managed to infiltrate Maroun al-Ras.

These incidents followed a fierce fight between the two sides in Misgav Am early Wednesday, as an Israeli infantry force of about 40 members managed to cross the barbed-wire border fence from the Misgav Am settlement, aiming to infiltrate the eastern edge of Adaisseh.

Also on Wednesday, Hezbollah's media officer Mohammad Afif said that "the Islamic Resistance is still strong and its capacities and command and control system are still good."

In his remarks to journalists touring Beirut's southern suburb of Dahieh, Afif said the clashes between Hezbollah members and the Israeli army in Misgav Am, Maroun al-Ras, and Adaisseh are "only the beginning," stressing an "enormous" number of Israelis were killed in border clashes.

Afif denied Israeli claims about the presence of weapons in the targeted buildings in Dahieh, accusing Israel of conducting a continuous and systematic destruction of buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, intending to incite resistance of people against Hezbollah.

Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have sharply escalated after the latter announced a shift in military focus from the Gaza Strip to the northern front in mid-September.

This intensified the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on Oct 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, triggering retaliatory Israeli artillery fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon.