Hezbollah claims hit on Israeli troops at Lebanese border as Netanyahu threatens Gaza-like destruction

The Iran-backed group claims it forced soldiers to retreat from Labbouneh village

Israeli soldiers with their tanks gather at an undisclosed location in northern Israel. EPA

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Hezbollah militants targeted Israeli soldiers near Lebanese border villages on Wednesday, a day after Israel said it had killed two successors to Hezbollah's assassinated chief Hassan Nasrallah.

The Israeli troops were hit directly with rockets and artillery shells, and forced to retreat from near the village of Labbouneh, the Iran-backed group said.

It also claimed responsibility for an attack on troops attempting to enter the southern village of Blida that wounded several people. Later on Wednesday, Hezbollah said it had launched rockets and artillery fire in a number of attacks on Israeli soldiers trying to advance into Meiss El Jabal near the border.

Separately, at least four people were killed and 10 injured in an Israeli attack on the town of Wardanieh, north of the city of Sidon in the Chouf district.

Inside Israel, two people were killed in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona in rocket fire from Hezbollah, Israel's ambulance service said. The Israeli army said about 20 projectiles were fired into the country from Lebanon.

Wednesday's violence came after the Israeli army said three soldiers had been seriously wounded in southern Lebanon earlier in the week and a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened further attacks on Lebanon.

“You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza,” Mr Netanyahu said in a video message directed at Lebanese citizens.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Israeli police said at least six people were wounded, some seriously according to emergency responders, in a stabbing in Hadera. Police described it as a "terrorist attack".

"The attack took place on four different sites where six people were stabbed ... a short time ago, the police located the suspect and neutralised him by shooting," officers said.

Israel's ambulance service said they treated several people, some of whom were in serious condition. Hamas, meanwhile, praised the "heroic" knife attack and said it was "a powerful message that the occupation's crimes in Gaza and the West Bank will not go unpunished".

More than 2,000 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced by Israeli attacks on Lebanon in the past year. The fighting has now escalated into intense air strikes across the country and a ground invasion in the south.

Mr Netanyahu indicated Israel had killed Hashem Safieddine, believed to have succeeded Nasrallah after his assassination in a Beirut air strike on September 27, though the Israeli leader did not name him.

“We took out thousands of terrorists, including Nasrallah himself and Nasrallah's replacement, and the replacement of the replacement,” Mr Netanyahu said. He did not specify what he meant by “replacement of replacement”.

While Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said Mr Safieddine has probably been “eliminated”, Hezbollah has not confirmed his death.

Haifa targeted

Hezbollah fired about 100 rockets at Haifa on Tuesday, its biggest attack on the Northern Israeli city since the war began, and threatened to carry out more attacks on the city if Israeli air strikes continue.

It came shortly after a speech from Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem, who for the first time said the group would support a ceasefire in Lebanon without tying it to a similar agreement in Gaza.

Tehran remains on alert for an expected Israeli attack after a large missile barrage was fired at Tel Aviv last week in retaliation for the assassination of Nasrallah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Abbas Nilforoushan.

Quds Force chief Esmail Qaani was also rumoured to have been killed in an Israeli air strike on the capital, with Iranian officials telling Reuters he has not been reachable for several days. His deputy Iraj Masjedi has denied the reports, saying Mr Qaani is in “good condition”.