Five Israeli Soldiers Killed, Two Tanks Destroyed in Southern Lebanon Fighting

Fighting was reported near Ramia, tanks were hit near border

Fighting seems to be picking up in Southern Lebanon as Israeli forces are reportedly encountering quite a bit of resistance to the ongoing invasion, with a substantial battle reported taking place in the Ramia area, where at least five Israeli troops were killed and a number of others wounded, three of them seriously so.

Earlier today, a pair of incidents were reported near al-Labbouneh Hill, which is just across the border in southern Lebanon. Two Israeli Merkava tanks were hit as they were crossing into the area, and were destroyed by Hezbollah anti-tank missiles.

The Merkava is Israel’s main battle tank, and has been reported repeatedly to be active in the ongoing invasion of southern Lebanon. Merkava tanks were involved in the Israeli raid on a UN peacekeeper base near Ramia over the weekend.

Hezbollah has made extensive use of anti-tank missiles both in the ongoing fighting and in previous exchanges of fire into northern Israel over the past year. Hezbollah is reporting substantial rocket strikes at Israeli border sites and troop gatherings near the border.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since early October of 2023, and it has escalated into an invasion which Israel announced last month. The attacks have increased a lot since then, with massive casualties and huge numbers of Lebanese displaced fleeing into Syria.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah bragged during a press conference that Hezbollah forces continue to resist the invasion in all areas, and said that Israeli troops have not captured a single village yet anywhere in Lebanese territory.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.