Israel launched air strikes and sent troops and tanks into southern Lebanon Wednesday, after Hezbollah television said its fighters had abducted two Israeli soldiers along the border. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the Hezbollah attacks as an "act of war" by Lebanon and promised a "very painful and far-reaching" response, The Associated Press reported. Hezbollah is demanding a prisoner exchange for the soldiers' release. In a later claim on its television network, Hezbollah said it had "destroyed" an Israeli tank crossing into southern Lebanon. The fate of the tank crew was not known.
