Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops engaged in fierce clashes on Saturday at the key southern Lebanon town of Khiam and in the coastal Bayyada area, several kilometers north of the border.
The official National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israel was "attempting to control the town" as it was "a strategic gateway for a rapid ground incursion," the NNA said. It added that Israeli troops had dynamited houses and were "trying to surround (Khiam) from all sides using extensive air and ground cover."
Intense air and artillery bombardment hit Khiam, about six kilometers from the frontier, the NNA indicated. Israeli tanks have been operating east of Khiam for more than three weeks, with the NNA reporting on Tuesday that the tanks had moved north of the town.
Over the past two days, Hezbollah said its fighters had attacked Israeli troops about 20 times in and around the large town.
The NNA said on Saturday that on the south coast, "the areas of Bayyada and Wadi Hamoul are witnessing violent clashes." It also reported airstrikes and shelling.
The NNA added that Israeli troops tried to penetrate the area in order to encircle the town of Naqoura via Bayyada, "a strategic location" on the coast between Naqoura and Tyre, 20 km from the border.
On October 29, the NNA said Israeli tanks entered Khiam's outskirts in their deepest incursion yet into southern Lebanon.
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