BEIRUT (AP) — Intense combat erupted Monday in the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil, where Israeli forces moved to surround the strategically important location as Hezbollah fighters responded with rocket and artillery attacks.
The mountainous community, positioned just over 2 miles from the U.N.-established Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel, has seen escalating violence during the past week following an Iran-U.S. agreement on a temporary ceasefire. The timing is significant as Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to conduct face-to-face discussions in Washington on Tuesday, marking the beginning of what could be historic direct peace negotiations.
Israeli military operations in Lebanon have shifted focus recently, with reduced bombardments in Beirut following a series of unannounced deadly attacks that struck busy residential and commercial districts in the capital, resulting in more than 350 deaths.
Simultaneously, Israel has intensified its ground operations and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, working to establish a security buffer zone extending to the Litani River, located approximately 20 miles from the international border. Bint Jbeil sits among numerous communities south of this river that Israel ordered evacuated when the current conflict began. The violence was triggered when Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel on March 2 as a show of support for Iran.
Lebanese Health Ministry statistics show that Israeli attacks have claimed at least 2,055 lives throughout Lebanon, including 252 women, 165 children, and 87 healthcare personnel, with an additional 6,588 people injured.
Reports from Lebanon’s government-operated National News Agency indicate Israeli ground troops have advanced into the town while blocking most escape routes. Regional media outlets suggest that numerous Hezbollah militants have become trapped in the encirclement.
Israeli military officials confirmed their forces have surrounded Hezbollah installations and initiated ground combat in Bint Jbeil and nearby areas, claiming to have eliminated more than 100 Hezbollah combatants. Hezbollah has not disclosed any losses from its fighters, while Israel has remained silent about its own military casualties.
On Sunday, Hezbollah reported conducting at least five separate attacks against Israeli troops in and around the town using rockets, artillery, and unmanned aircraft. The organization’s communications indicated Israeli forces had taken positions near educational facilities, medical centers, and key intersections in Bint Jbeil’s center. That same day, Israeli forces said they engaged Hezbollah personnel conducting surveillance from Bint Jbeil Government Hospital and discovered stored machine guns and rockets.
During Israel’s previous occupation of southern Lebanon, which lasted until 2000, the country used Bint Jbeil and other high-elevation sites as crucial observation posts. Hezbollah’s recapture of this hilltop community became a significant milestone, culminating in a victory address by former Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah at a local stadium. Israeli military sources released satellite imagery Monday showing the apparent destruction of that same stadium in a recent strike.
In other developments, funeral services were held in Choueifat, south of Beirut, for a Lebanese Red Cross volunteer who died in an Israeli attack Sunday while conducting a rescue operation in the southern village of Beit Yahoun.
Monday brought another incident when an Israeli strike near Red Cross headquarters in the coastal city of Tyre killed an injured person during transport, while also damaging multiple Red Cross vehicles. A source with knowledge of the situation said the attack targeted an individual on a motorcycle who was transporting the wounded person. The identities of both victims remain unclear. The source requested anonymity as they were not authorized to share this information.
Red Cross officials have not yet issued a statement regarding the incident. Israeli military representatives did not provide an immediate response when contacted by The Associated Press for comment.
