First Israeli military combat death reported after incursions into Lebanon

BEIRUT: The Israeli military has announced its first combat death since launching ground operations in Lebanon this week.

The military said Wednesday that a 22-year-old in a commando brigade was killed in combat in Lebanon.

Hezbollah said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces inside Lebanon on Wednesday, reporting ground clashes for the first time since Israel began pushing into its northern neighbor in a campaign to hammer the Iran-backed armed group.

The Israeli military said regular infantry and armored units were joining its ground operations in Lebanon, a day after Israel was attacked by Iran in a strike that raised fears the oil-producing Middle East could be engulfed in a wider conflict.

The violence, meanwhile, continued on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Hezbollah said it was clashing with Israeli troops in the border town of Maroun el-Ras after it had pushed back forces near another border town. The group said it had also fired rockets at military posts inside Israel.

The group’s media chief Mohammad Afif said those battles were only “the first round” and that the group had enough fighters, weapons and ammunition to push back Israel.

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