The Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia confirmed this morning that it had thwarted an Israeli army infiltration attempt into Lebanon, near the Lebanese city of Aita al-Shaab, amid rising tensions in the area and suspicions of a possible attack by Iran and its allied militias in response to the Israeli attack. They added that “our mujahideen clashed with a group of Israeli enemy soldiers who infiltrated the Hadab Aita forest, and attacked the infiltrating group with rockets and artillery shells, forcing them to retreat after sustaining confirmed casualties.” Hezbollah also indicated that this “attack on the group of infiltrators was carried out after monitoring and pursuing the Israeli enemy,” according to a statement compiled by the group’s affiliated Al-Manar TV network. The incidents came a day after the Israeli military killed the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces unit in a drone strike while he was riding a motorcycle near the coastal city of Tyre. Ten people were killed in a bombing in the south of the country that same day. The militias then responded by firing 50 rockets into northern Israel. The Israeli military and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and has significant political influence in Lebanon, have been locked in a series of clashes since October 8, a day after Hamas attacks that left about 1,200 people dead and about 240 kidnapped. Gaza authorities have already reported more than 40,000 dead.
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