20 Israeli soldiers were killed and wounded in an ambush, Hezbollah says

Twenty Israeli soldiers were killed or wounded as they attempted to advance toward the Lebanese towns of Maroun al-Ras and Yaroun on Friday afternoon, Hezbollah said in a statement.

The Lebanese group said the Israeli army tried to advance under artillery cover but was ambushed with explosive devices. The fighters then attacked the army “at close range to zero distance.”

Killed or wounded soldiers were evacuated while the remaining Israeli force withdrew under artillery cover, the statement published on Telegram said.

The statement also referred to images shared by the Israeli army of a village in southern Lebanon that it claimed to have reached, saying that the Israelis suffered significant losses to obtain the images.

The Israeli army had published images of soldiers in houses and villages where they had allegedly discovered Hezbollah ammunition.

The Israeli army, which strictly censors its operations and casualties, has not confirmed Hezbollah's statement.

However, nine soldier deaths were confirmed this week on the northern front with Lebanon, including eight killed in one incident.

On Friday, Israel announced that two more soldiers were killed and 24 others injured in a drone strike from Iraq on a military base in the occupied Golan Heights.

Israel has dramatically stepped up its attack on Lebanon over the past month, carrying out devastating attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut and Lebanon's south and east.

This led to the killing of numerous Hezbollah leaders and officials, including Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel, which is now attempting a ground invasion, has encountered fierce resistance from the group, which said it pushed back an Israeli attempt to infiltrate the town of Odaisseh on Wednesday.

Clashes between Hezbollah and Israel originally began on October 8 last year, a day after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel that led to the Gaza war.

The latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah followed the firing of rockets at Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights on October 8. The two sides fought a firefight across the border for nearly a year until Israel stepped up its attack on Lebanon this week.