Israeli forces surround Bint Jbeil in Lebanon after heavy clashes with Hezbollah

The Israeli military said on Monday its troops had completely surrounded a key town in southern Lebanon after killing more than 100 Hezbollah fighters there over the past weekThe announcement marks a significant advance in Israels ongoing invasion of southern Lebanon The forces of the 98th Division have completed the encirclement of the town of Bint Jbeil and have begun an assault on it the militarys Arabiclanguage spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on XOver the past week Israeli forces have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters in and around the town in facetoface clashes and with air strikes he saidPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting that since Sunday the fighting in southern Lebanon had been concentrated in Bint JbeilThe fighting continues It has not stopped it is ongoing all the time Yesterday and today it has been concentrated in Bint Jbeil he said according to a video statement released by his office on MondayNetanyahu said that Israeli troops were pushing Hezbollah fighters away from the border We are talking about a solid security belt deeper than before one that prevents the danger of infiltration and pushes back the antitank threat he saidThey are also dealing with the terror villages that were right up against us every terror position and there were many has simply been flattenedThe Iranbacked Hezbollah said it has been engaged for days in clashes with Israeli forces in Bint Jbeil Just five kilometres three miles from the Israeli border Bint Jbeil has long been both a symbolic and strategic flashpoint in confrontations between Israeli forces and Hezbollah It was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during the 2006 war when Hezbollahs resistance there became central to the groups narrative of defianceIntense clashesIt was from the stadium in Bint Jbeil in 2000 that the groups former chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered the Liberation speech following Israels withdrawal from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupationFull operation control of Bint Jbeil will be achieved within days an Israeli military official told AFP At this stage Hezbollah is limited in Bint Jbeil and can no longer conduct attacks on northern Israeli communities from this areaOn Thursday Hezbollah said it was engaged in pointblank clashes with Israeli forces in the townSince then the group has repeatedly reported targeting Israeli forces and vehicles there most recently on Sunday when the staterun National News Agency NNA reported intense clashes in the townOn Monday the NNA reported Israeli artillery shelling at the towns entrance The escalation in Bint Jbeil comes as diplomatic efforts to contain the crossborder fighting have risen over the past few daysIsraeli and Lebanese officials are set to hold talks on Tuesday in Washington to end the war Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel after USIsraeli strikes killed Irans supreme leader Ali Khamenei on February 28Israel responded with massive strikes and a ground invasion During a visit to troops in southern Lebanon on Sunday Netanyahu said Israeli forces had eliminated the threat of an invasion by Hezbollah militants But he added There is still more to do and we are doing itIsraeli officials have repeatedly said that Israel wants to establish a security zone in south Lebanon to help prevent Hezbollah attacksThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever