Israeli airstrikes backed up fierce fighting on the ground between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah in south Lebanon on Monday. Hezbollah said it destroyed an Israeli tank and bulldozer trying to advance toward Ainata, just north of Bint Jbail. Their crews were killed or wounded, the group said in a statement. Israel said one of its soldiers died and five were wounded, and that 15 Hezbollah fighters were killed. Hezbollah has announced the deaths of 55 of its fighters in nearly a month of battles. Israel estimates several hundred are dead. The Al-Manar TV said clashes began around 3 a.m. (0000 GMT) near the Mediterranean city Naqoura, some 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north of the Israeli border. Several more Israeli soldiers were killed or injured there, it said. The Israeli army confirmed clashes and casualties in the western region of south Lebanon, but did not elaborate. Meanwhile Israeli air raids continued to target villages across the country. A warplane fired two missiles into mountains at Birket Jabbour, in the western Bekaa Valley, witnesses and Lebanon's National News Agency reported. There was no word on casualties or damage. At dawn, Israeli jets struck the villages of Biyad and Kfar Jouz the outskirts of Nabatiyeh, NNA said. Israeli artillery pounded villages of Yohmour, Zoutar, Aadsheet and Qosaibah, just north of the Litani River, it said. Intense shelling was also reported in Khiam, about 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the Israeli border in the eastern region of south Lebanon, the Associated Press reported.
