Israel Escalates Lebanon Invasion, Four Soldiers Killed in Combat

The Israeli military has confirmed that four soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are engaged in clashes with Hezbollah fighters following a ground invasion.

In a statement, the army named three soldiers from the same battalion who 'fell during combat'. A separate statement confirmed another soldier's death in the same incident, with two others wounded.

This brings the total number of Israeli soldiers reported killed since fighting began on March 2 to ten, following a US-Israeli joint attack on Iran. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reports that over 1,200 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, with more than a million displaced.

The escalation comes after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that two peacekeepers were killed in an explosion near the southern Lebanese village of Bani Haiyyan. Another peacekeeper was killed by a projectile on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to expand its invasion in southern Lebanon, aiming to extend a 'buffer zone' to the Litani River. Israel's far-right ministers have urged Netanyahu to annex southern Lebanon, as the military destroys infrastructure to isolate the area.

Al Jazeera's Lebanon correspondent, Zeina Khodr, reported that Monday night marked a new escalation as Israel opened a new front in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, targeting strategic supply lines for Hezbollah. Khodr noted that Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem acknowledged the imbalance of power but vowed to make the war 'costly' for Israel.

The conflict in Lebanon is part of the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, which has resulted in over 1,340 deaths since February 28. Netanyahu has reportedly told US officials that any future agreement between the US and Tehran will not stop Israel's actions in Lebanon.