Beirut, Apr 14:
Fierce fighting Monday rocked the strategic southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, as Israeli troops appeared to encircle the area while Hezbollah militants launched rockets and artillery in an effort to push them back.
The clashes in the hilly town that overlooks the UN-mandated Blue Line dividing the two countries just over 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) away have intensified over the past week, after Iran and the United States agreed to a temporary truce.
On Tuesday, Lebanon and Israel’s ambassadors to the US are set to meet in Washington for an in-person meeting in a bid to kick off a landmark series of direct negotiations.
Israel has scaled back its attacks in Lebanon, especially in Beirut, after a series of deadly strikes without warning hit the heart of the capital in some of its busiest residential and commercial areas, killing over 350 people.
At the same time, Israel appears to have stepped up strikes and ground invasion in southern Lebanon, where it intends to create a security zone along the Litani River, almost 20 miles (32 kilometres) from the border.
Bint Jbeil is among dozens of towns and villages south of the river that Israel called to evacuate early on in the war. The latest round of fighting was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel on March 2, in solidarity with Iran.
At least 2,055 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, among them 252 women, 165 children, and 87 medical workers, while 6,588 were wounded.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency has reported Israeli ground forces making their way into the town with most of the exit roads cut off.
Israel also said its troops surrounded Hezbollah infrastructure and started ground operations in Bint Jbeil and surrounding areas, killing over 100 Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah did not immediately announce any fatalities among its ranks.