Israel loses 8 soldiers in battle with Hezbollah as Netanyahu weighs military response to Iran's attack

Israel said Wednesday that eight of its soldiers had been killed in combat with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed a military response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The Israeli military gave no details of how its soldiers had died, though it had earlier described “close-range” fighting with Hezbollah on the second full day of its invasion of southern Lebanon. The Iranian-backed militia said in a statement that its fighters had clashed with Israeli soldiers in at least one Lebanese town, Maroun al-Ras, about a mile from the evacuated Israeli town of Avivim, which the militia said it had targeted with rockets.

The Lebanese army also said Israeli forces operating near two villages had briefly crossed a few hundred yards over what is known as the Blue Line, a UN demarcation of southern Lebanon and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. And Israel’s military said it had launched more strikes against Hezbollah targets after the militia fired more than 40 “projectiles” across the border.

The escalating fighting in Lebanon came as the Middle East remained on edge following Iran’s missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday. Though the roughly 180 missiles were mostly intercepted by Israel’s air defenses with the help of the United States and other allies, Netanyahu said that Iran, a longtime adversary, had “made a big mistake” and would “pay for it.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the hourlong assault was retribution for the recent assassinations of leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, another of its proxies that is fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s top military officer, said the missiles had been aimed at three military bases and the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.

Video verified by The New York Times showed dozens of missiles exploding in different parts of Israel on Tuesday, including about a quarter-mile from the Mossad headquarters. Israel’s military said an air force base had sustained “a few hits,” but that essential infrastructure had been spared. Photos showed damage elsewhere, including to a school in southern Israel and a building in Tel Aviv.

The barrage of Iranian missiles came a day after Israeli ground forces pushed into parts of southern Lebanon in an invasion the military said aimed to eliminate Hezbollah’s ability to attack Israel. Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and elsewhere in the country killed 55 people and wounded over 150 others Tuesday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.