Eight IDF soldiers killed in Lebanon - as UN secretary general banned from entering Israel

Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed during fighting in southern Lebanon, Israel's military has said.

The deaths have been confirmed as Israeli forces continue their ground offensive in Lebanon after carrying out days of strikes on the capital Beirut - killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other members of the group's senior command.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, said its fighters have clashed with Israeli soldiers in two border towns - Maroun Al Ras and Adaisseh - since the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) began their offensive into Lebanon on Tuesday.

The Israeli military first confirmed on Wednesday that army squad commander Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, had been killed during combat in Lebanon.

The IDF later confirmed a further seven soldiers had been killed in the fighting and named them as Captain Harel Ettinger, Captain Itai Ariel Giat, Major Noam Barzilai, Major Or Mansour, Major Nezer Itkin, Sergeant Alamkan Tarfa, and Sergeant Ido Breuer.

Middle East latest: Follow live updates

In other developments:
• Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday night
• UK jets joined the Israeli defence operation during the Iranian attack
• US President Biden said he would not support Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites
• Three civilians were killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus, Syrian state media said
• Israel's foreign minister said the UN general secretary is banned from the country
• Iran's supreme leader said the West is the 'source of war and instability' in the region
• Three people were arrested after blasts near the Israeli embassy in Denmark
• Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting in Tel Aviv
• And Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen targeted military posts in Israel

The soldier deaths were confirmed after the IDF reported its infantry and tank units had been operating in southern Lebanon after the military sent thousands of additional troops and artillery to the border on Wednesday.

The Lebanese army said Israeli forces had advanced 400 metres across the border and withdrew "after a short period".

The Israeli military said ground forces backed by airstrikes had killed militants in "close-range engagements", without saying where.

It has warned people in 50 Lebanese villages and towns to evacuate north of the Awali River, some 37 miles from the border.

The IDF has claimed its ground operation is largely aimed at destroying Hezbollah tunnels and infrastructure on the border, with no plans for a wider operation.

Over the past two weeks, Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, with almost a quarter of them women and children, according to the Lebanese health ministry, and over one million people have been displaced.

Read more
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Meanwhile, three civilians were killed by an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital of Damascus today, Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a military source as saying.

The Israeli airstrike targeted a residential building in the Mezzah suburb in the west of the city, the source added.

The IDF has not commented on the claims.

The latest developments come after Iran fired a barrage of nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for the IDF's strikes against Hezbollah.

Most of the missiles were intercepted, Israel said, with US help, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond, labelling the Iranian strikes a "major mistake".

Analysis:
Israel is unlikely to choose a token response

UN chief banned by Israel

Following the Iranian strikes, in a move likely to deepen the already wide rift between Israel and the UN, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz banned UN general secretary Antonio Guterres from entering the country.

It is not immediately apparent if Mr Katz has the power to do this, but he accused Mr Guterres of having an anti-Israel bias after not referring to Iran in a statement made on Tuesday.

Mr Guterres yesterday condemned the "broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation" and called for a ceasefire in a statement that did not specifically mention Iran.

Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Iran's response mark a significant escalation in the region nearly a year after Hamas militants entered Gaza, killing around 1,200 people and taking a further 250 hostage.

Israel responded by launching air and ground attacks in Gaza - with the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory saying so far nearly 42,000 people have been killed. The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Israel's attacks on Gaza continue

Israeli military strikes killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, local medics said, adding that Israeli tanks briefly advanced in the south of the enclave.

Israeli tanks carried out a raid in areas in eastern and central Khan Younis, before partially retreating, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens, according to the Voice of Palestine radio station and Hamas media.

The European Hospital in Khan Younis said it received bodies after Israeli strikes in the city, with hospital records showing that seven women and 12 children, one as young as 22 months old, were among those killed.

Dr Saleh al Hams, head of the nursing department at the hospital, said he had seen dozens of dead and wounded people in his facility from around 3am local time.

He warned the number of dead could rise.

(c) Sky News 2024: Eight IDF soldiers killed in Lebanon - as UN secretary general banned from entering Israel