The Israeli Air Force carried out air strikes on Thursday (local time). Picture: supplied
Large explosions erupted near Beirut International Airport during a further night of Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital city.
The airport borders Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the capital.
Media reports said the Lebanese army reported that two of its soldiers were killed in the country’s south as Israeli forces ordered another 20 towns and villages to evacuate.
The Israeli military has said its troops killed Hezbollah fighters near the border while Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli troops on both sides of the frontier.
The two fatal attacks on the Lebanese army soldiers were just hours apart on Thursday, media agencies reported.
In the first incident, the army said, one soldier died and another was wounded during an evacuation and rescue operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in Taybeh village.
The Red Cross said four of its volunteers were lightly wounded and that their movements had been co-ordinated with UN peacekeepers.
The army said that in the second incident another soldier was killed after Israeli military targeted an army post in the Bint Jbeil area.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) told residents of another two dozen towns and villages in the south, including the regional capital of Nabatieh, to leave immediately. These towns and villages are all located north of the Litani River, about 30km from the border.
Lebanon’s health minister says more than 40 paramedics and firefighters had been killed by Israeli fire in the past three days.
The Israeli Air Force carried out air strikes on Thursday (local time) against targets it said belonged to Hezbollah including intelligence headquarters, weapons production sites, weapons storage facilities.
About 15 Hezbollah fighters were killed when a building in Bint Jbeil was hit, the IDF claimed.
The IDF later said a structure housing three Hezbollah commanders was destroyed during a joint operation carried out by the air force and infantry.
Hezbollah said that its fighters had “repelled failed attempts” by Israeli commandos to advance into some border villages during the day.
The group reported that it had targeted “enemy gatherings” and homes on the other side of the frontier as it fired rockets deep into northern Israel.
The IDF said more than 230 projectiles had been launched into Israeli territory during the day. Most were intercepted or fell in open areas with no casualty reports.
