Israeli forces push deeper into Lebanon
Fierce fighting was raging at the border today as Israeli troops moved deeper into Lebanon to besiege the biggest town close to the border – Bint Jbail, nicknamed the “capital of the resistance”.
An Israeli helicopter also crashed in northern Israel near the border after hitting an electrical wire while making an emergency landing, causing two casualties and starting a large brush fire atop a hill, the army said. Al-Arabiya television said the two were dead.
Israeli artillery barrages sent plumes of smoke into the air and the military said soldiers moved in and took control of a hilltop inside Bint Jbail, about three miles from the border. But the remainder of the town was still in Hezbollah hands, Israeli military officials said.
Ten Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack, the military said.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in remarks published today that the priority is for a ceasefire and was open to discussing ideas on how to end the crisis.
This morning, 10 Hezbollah rockets landed in Israel, two of them hitting the town of Kiryat Shmona, without causing casualties or damage.
