Israeli said on Wednesday eight of its soldiers were killed in combat in south Lebanon as its forces pushed into its northern neighbour in a campaign against the Hezbollah armed group.
The losses were the deadliest suffered by the Israeli military on the Lebanon front in the past year of clashes between Israel and its Iran-backed Lebanese adversary.
Hezbollah said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces inside Lebanon on Wednesday, reporting ground clashes for the first time since Israel began its ground advance.
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armoured units were joining its ground operations in Lebanon, a day after Israel was attacked by Iran in a missile strike that raised concerns that the oil-producing Middle East could be caught up in a wider conflict.
Meanwhile, Iran’s armed forces joint chief of staff, General Mohammad Bagheri, has threatened to repeat missile strikes on Israel with “multiplied intensity” if the Israeli regime retaliates against Iranian territory.
The warning came after Iran launched a missile salvo on Israeli military installations in response to what it described as Israel’s “continuous crimes.”
He stated, “The last two months were two very difficult months for the Iranian nation and the Axis of Resistance,” referencing Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the West’s demands for Iran to exercise restraint in an effort to establish a ceasefire in Gaza.
He further added that the criminal Zionist regime increased its crimes with the support and the green light of the United States.
Mohammad Bagheri stated that Iran’s missile operation had successfully hit key military sites, including Mossad headquarters, Nevatim Airbase, and Hatzerim Airbase.
He emphasised that while the IRGC strike targeted military assets, “the economic and industrial infrastructure of the regime was not targeted, their people were not targeted, while this was completely possible.”
“If the Zionist regime, which has reached (the level of) madness, is not controlled by the United States and Europe and wants to continue such crimes or take action against our sovereignty and territorial integrity, tonight’s operation will be repeated on a much larger scale and all their infrastructures will be hit,” Mohammad Bagheri warned.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that 90% of the missiles launched in the attack successfully hit their targets. Mohammad Bagheri warned that if Israel continues its crimes, Iran would escalate the situation, expanding the scale of its operations.
In response to the Iranian strikes Israel had vowed to retaliate, with army spokesman saying it would respond at the time and place of its choosing.
“This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide,” said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
World leaders have meanwhile urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink after Iran’s launch of missiles. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”.