BEIRUT(RAHNUMA): Hezbollah on Saturday said it confronted Israeli troops that infiltrated an east Lebanon town overnight, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least 16 killed in Israeli strikes on the area.
In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters had “observed the infiltration of four Israeli enemy army helicopters from the Syrian direction.”
After landing and disembarking, the advancing troops “were engaged” by a group of Hezbollah fighters as they reached a cemetery in the town of Nabi Sheet, Hezbollah said.
“The clash escalated after the enemy force was exposed,” it added, saying the Israeli troops launched intense strikes before evacuating.
An AFP correspondent in the area heard warplanes and intense gunfire throughout the night.
Israel’s military said Saturday it had carried out an operation in Lebanon to find remains of airman Ron Arad, but failed to uncover any trace of the navigator missing since 1986.
“As part of IDF activities in Lebanon, IDF special forces operated overnight in an attempt to locate findings related to the missing navigator Ron Arad. No IDF injuries were reported,” the Israeli army said in a statement.
“No findings related to him were located at the search site.”
Lebanese health ministry says death toll expected to rise
Lebanon’s east, where Hezbollah holds sway, was subjected to heavy Israeli strikes on Friday, particularly Nabi Sheet, which was struck at least 13 times, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The Lebanese health ministry said at least 16 people have been killed in strikes in the area, with 35 wounded.
In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it targeted with rockets the Israelis’ “evacuation area” outside Nabi Sheet
Israel has launched numerous strikes and sent ground troops into Lebanon since Iran-backed group Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
The Nabi Sheet raid would be the deepest Israeli forces have reached inside Lebanon since special unit troops apprehended Hezbollah operative Imad Amhaz from the northern city of Batroun in November 2024.
NNA also said earlier on Saturday that “clashes are taking place on the eastern mountain range along the Lebanese-Syrian border … to repel Israeli landing attempts.”
