The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported intense air and artillery bombardment of Khiam, 6km (4 miles) from the southern Lebanese border, as cited by Al Jazeera.
Israeli military is “attempting to control the town” as it’s “a strategic gateway for a rapid ground incursion”, the NNA said, according to Al Jazeera. Israeli troops dynamited houses and are “trying to surround [Khiam] from all sides using extensive air and ground cover”.
Over the past two days, Hezbollah said its fighters attacked Israeli soldiers about 20 times in and around the large town. Israeli tanks have been operating east of Khiam for more than three weeks.
Khiam has symbolic significance. It was the site of a notorious prison run by the South Lebanon Army, an Israeli proxy militia, during its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon. Israeli forces withdrew from the region in 2000.
The NNA said that, on the south coast, “the areas of al-Bayyaada and Wadi Hamool are witnessing violent clashes”.