Two Naval commando soldiers, including one officer, were seriously wounded and six more sustained light wounds, in an overnight raid on Tyre early Saturday morning. All the wounded were evacuated to Israel to receive medical treatment.
IDF commandos seen in action [illustrative - incident pictured not related to story.]
Photo: IDF
The operation, which was conducted based on military intelligence, targeted terrorists that were responsible for firing long-range rockets at Israel, including those that reached Hadera on Friday.
The commandos entered an apartment building in a crowded residential area in northern Tyre, where they engaged with Hizbullah operatives, including three senior members.
When the elite unit left the apartment, they were fired upon from several directions. IAF aircrafts and drones covered the force and cleared an exit for it. Seven Lebanese were killed in the operation.
Head of Naval intelligence told Army Radio that an aerial assault on the building was avoided since it was not known whether there were civilians in the building. He also mentioned that the ground operation sent a strong message to the fighters, indicating that the IDF can reach deep into Lebanon.
Lebanese men look at the damage to a road that was hit in a missile strike during an IDF raid in the port city of Tyre.
Photo: Associated Press , AP
A Hizbullah statement said that Naval commandos tried to land in the orchards of the village of Chabriha, just north of Tyre, at 3:30 a.m. but were repelled by Hizbullah guerrillas and Lebanese soldiers who heavily clashed with the forces.
"One member of the infiltrating force was killed and a large number of others were wounded," the Hezbollah statement said.
No IDF soldiers were killed in Tyre.
Operating in western Lebanon, IDF reserve forces uncovered a large weapons cache, including anti-tank missiles, in the village of Yaroun later in the day.
The IDF said that some 40 Hizbullah operatives were killed in the eastern sector since the beginning of the fighting.
In a later operation, IDF troops identified and destroyed a rocket launcher in the village of Bint Jbail, in the central sector of southern Lebanon on Saturday.
The launcher was aimed at the northern town of Ma'a lot, the IDF said.
AP contributed to this report.
