Israel captures bodies of two Hezbollah fighters near Lebanon border

Israeli forces have killed and captured the bodies of two Hezbollah fighters who were reportedly planting an explosive device on the Lebanese border, the New Arab's Arabic language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Friday.

The Israeli army released images it claimed were retrieved from a GoPro camera carried by one of the Hezbollah fighters attempting to plant a device near the Israeli Al-Abbad outpost, located opposite the Lebanese town of Houla.

The Israeli forces detected three fighters and opened fire killing two and capturing their bodies, while a third managed to escape unharmed.

According to information obtained by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the incident took place a few days ago, after the Israeli forces targeted a Hezbollah cell on the border.

The Lebanese Shia group has not yet issued any statement on the incident but a Hezbollah source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed they were closely following the matter.

The report came just hours after Hezbollah fired a barrage of around 150 rockets into northern Israel, as the Israeli army said it struck 100 launchers and other military infrastructure belonging to the Lebanese group in southern Lebanon.

Some Israeli outlets said the strikes were the most extensive on Hezbollah targets since cross-border clashes began in October with at least three villages in southern Lebanon bombed.

Security sources in Lebanon said four people were wounded in Israel's intensive bombardment on Thursday, although it was not clear if they were Hezbollah members.

The strikes followed late-night instructions by the army on Thursday to residents of numerous northern Israeli cities and towns telling them to stay near bomb shelters.

At the same time, the Haaretz daily reported that dozens of houses in the northern Israeli town of Metula were hit by Hezbollah rockets fired overnight and at least two Israeli soldiers were killed in the strikes.

Hezbollah said its fighters had fired a guided missile at an Israeli troop position in Metula, an Israeli town on the border targeted frequently by the Lebanese group over the last year.

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon called on Friday for an immediate de-escalation amid the cross-border exchanges.

The UNIFIL peacekeeping force in south Lebanon said that the previous 12 hours had seen "a heavy intensification of the hostilities" across the Lebanese-Israeli border and in its area of operations.

"We are concerned at the increased escalation across the Blue Line and urge all actors to immediately de-escalate," UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Reuters, referring to the line that delineates the border between Lebanon and Israel.

In one of the most extreme events in the Israel-Lebanon war, explosives planted in electronic devices used by Hezbollah and others detonated on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, leading to dozens of people dead, including two children, and hundreds injured.

In a TV address on Thursday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the device explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday "crossed all red lines" and vowed to punish Israel.

Israel has not directly commented on the pager and radio detonations, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency, which has a long history of carrying out covert attacks on foreign soil.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said late on Thursday that Israel will keep up military action against Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said its attacks on northern Israel aim to support Palestinians under Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip, while Nasrallah said on Thursday it would not end its attacks on northern Israel until "the halt of the aggression on Gaza".