Israel sends third army division to Lebanon border, as 2 soldiers killed in clashes

The Israeli military announced Monday the death of two of its soldiers in border clashes with Hezbollah, adding that a third division had been sent to the Lebanon front.

Reserve Maj. Itai Azoulai was killed and two other soldiers from the Egoz Battalion sustained serious injuries after being hit by a mortar shell, an Israeli army statement said.

Later on Monday, a second soldier was pronounced dead.

Hezbollah has for days repelled Israeli forces at the border by using machine guns, anti-tank missiles and mortars, stopping them from advancing into southern Lebanon.

The military announced Monday that its 91st Division, known as the Galilee Formation and part of Israel’s Northern Command, would be joining other divisions at the border as Israel plans to expand its incursions to the north.

Israel claims it seeks to carry out "limited ground operations" in south Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, as it pummels other areas of the country from the air.

The Lebanese are worried that any ground invasion could see Israel occupy parts of the south as it did between 1982 and 2000.

Already more than two dozen soldiers have been killed and dozens more wounded according to Hezbollah, which says that Israel is usually dishonest about its casualty numbers.

This comes as Hezbollah continues to strike military sites in Israel using missiles and drones.

Several rockets were fired over the border on Sunday night and landed in the centre of Israel’s northern port city of Haifa.

Hezbollah said it was targeting the Israeli unit 7200's maintenance and rehabilitation base south of Haifa as well as the Nimra base near Tiberias. Other targets included the settlement of Ma'alot Tarshiha, the city of Safed, and Israeli soldiers in the Bar'am kibbutz.

Israeli authorities said nearly a dozen were injured in the rocket fire.

Fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group started a year ago as cross-border hostilities, in the fallout of the war on Gaza. But on 23 September Israel began a deadly aerial campaign which has seen intense airstrikes on south Lebanon, the eastern Beqaa region and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Over 2,000 people have been killed since 8 October 2023. Most civilian deaths – including children and paramedics – were recorded in the past two weeks.

Hospitals out of operation

Israel's offensive on Lebanon has already heavily impacted its healthcare system, already reeling under years of a crushing economic crisis.

Several hospitals and medical centres have been damaged because of the strikes, forced to close and move patients elsewhere.

Those in the south of the country which have completely seized operations due to Israel's bombardment are the Marjaayoun, Mays al-Jabal and Bint Jbeil public hospitals, as well as the Salah Ghandour private hospital in the town of Bint Jbeil.

In the south of Beirut, the Rasoul al-Aazam, Al-Zahraa, and St Therese hospitals have been partially put out of operation.

The New Arab tried to contact the Lebanese health ministry for more details.

Head of the Hospitals Syndicate in Lebanon Sleiman Haroun on Saturday said 73 health workers have been killed in the Israeli offensive.

Israel has especially targeted members of the private Islamic Health Authority.