Israeli officer, soldier wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon

ISTANBUL

The Israeli army said Thursday evening that an officer and a soldier were wounded during clashes in southern Lebanon, amid escalating fighting along the border between the two sides.

In a brief statement, the military said a combat officer from the Givati Brigade sustained serious injuries, while another combat soldier from the same unit was moderately wounded during fighting earlier Thursday in southern Lebanon.

The statement did not provide further details about the nature of the clashes or the exact location where they occurred.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 14 reported that the Lebanese group Hezbollah fired around 10 anti-tank missiles toward two Israeli army positions in southern Lebanon earlier Thursday, resulting in injuries to the two soldiers.

The development comes as Hezbollah has, over the past two days, repeatedly announced clashes between its fighters and Israeli forces that had advanced into several areas in southern Lebanon.

Earlier Thursday, the group said its fighters launched rockets at Israeli army positions in the Galilee region in northern Israel at dawn, describing the attack as a response to what it called Israel’s ongoing strikes on dozens of Lebanese towns and cities.

The border between Lebanon and Israel has witnessed increasing escalation in recent days, with exchanges of fire and attacks raising concerns about the possibility of a broader confrontation in the region, amid the ongoing US-Israel offensive on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Gulf countries hosting US military assets.