The cross-border fighting appeared to be the first direct ground confrontation between the two sides since Israel invaded Lebanon this week.
Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants said on Wednesday that they were fighting at close range in southern Lebanon, in what appeared to be the first direct ground confrontation between the two sides since the Israeli invasion began.
The clashes came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel weighed a military response to Iran’s launch on Tuesday of nearly 200 missiles at Israel, an attack that further set the region on edge.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday that eight of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon. Five were members of the elite Egoz Unit, which the military said had been engaged in “close-range engagements” with Hezbollah militants.
The fighting showed that Hezbollah remained capable of carrying out deadly attacks despite a devastating Israeli bombing campaign targeting its military infrastructure and many of its top commanders, including strikes that killed its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
On Wednesday, Israel threatened to respond forcefully to Iran, Hezbollah’s patron, after it launched the missile barrage. One man was killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
