Israel Face Heavy Loss On First Day Of Ground Invasion In Lebanon; Over 8 Soldiers Killed (image @jacksonhinklle)
Since Israel started its ground invasion in southern Lebanon, eight Israeli soldiers were killed and nearly 20 were injured, most of whom were had to be airlifted. The Israeli army also confirmed that it was hit over 200 rockets from Hezbollah in 24 hours.
Referring to Hezbollah, widely known as part of Iran’s axis of resistance, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it a war against “Iran’s Axis of Evil”. “We are at the height of a difficult war against Iran’s Axis of Evil, which wants to destroy us”, he said
According to Lebanese media Al Mayadeen, the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) attempted to enter Odaisseh region, but were caught in a “well planned” ambush when they reached the barbed wire. All the wounded soldiers were evacuated from this scene through helicopters, said the report.
Hezbollah said it also fired surface-to-air missiles at an Israeli military helicopter which has been flying over Beit Hillel in northern Israel, forcing it to retreat.
However, Hezbollah did not clarify if the helicopter was hit by its missile, and Israeli military also did not provide any information on the matter. Reportedly, this is Hezbollah’s first attack on an Israeli helicopter since fighting escalated amid Israel’s bombing across Lebanon and the start of its ground offensive in Lebanon’s south this week.
The ground invasion into Lebanon started hours after Iran launched barrage of missiles to Tel Aviv, which Tehran said had hit its targets clearly. Israel claimed no major attack happened on its infrastructure in Iran’s missile attack.
According to AP news agency, satellite image of an aircraft hangar at a key Israeli military airbase appear to show a large hole in the roof following a massive barrage of Iranian missiles.
Separately, Israel’s military has reported that two aerial drones were detected in the airspace off the coast of Tel Aviv following the triggering of air defence alarms. It said the Israeli air force intercepted one of the drones “in the maritime space off the coast” of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and the second crashed down “in an open area”. The Israeli Occupation Force did not say from where the drones originated or the likely target of the attack.
Meanwhile, Israel continue its bombing campaign in Lebanon. Over 6 were killed in its last attack on Beirut. AP reported that the target of an Israeli air strike on central Beirut was an apartment building linked to Hezbollah’s ‘health unit’.
The report said Israel started bombing a multistorey building in the Bashoura residential district. According to the news agency, Hezbollah-aligned al-Manar TV station said the strike targeted the Hezbollah’s health unit. It marks the second time Israel has struck the Lebanese capital’s downtown area this week.
