8 soldiers killed in planned ambush as IDF continue to honor human shields

It was definitely a planned ambush, with dozens of Hizbullah operatives waiting in the wee hours of Wednesday morning for Israel Defense Forces soldiers to enter the village of Bint Jbeil.

The hours of bitter fighting that took place in "Hizbullah's capital" resulted in eight killed soldiers. Three troops were seriously injured, four were moderately hurt and 15 sustained light wounds. Among the injured were two officers.

The battles took place primarily in a strip of 15 houses. Forces from the Golani infantry brigade moved among the houses, with backup forces covering them from various points within the structures.

...IDF sources approximate that there were a hundred Hizbullah members in the area on Tuesday who, during the night, were possibly joined by additional forces.

...An IDF source explained that, considering that there are still a few hundred Lebanese citizens in Bint Jbeil, forces cannot attack the town aerially, and, thus, it is necessary to bring in ground troops. He emphasized that fighting in the area will continue.

Pursuant to the difficult battle, the IDF may postpone additional operations in southern Lebanon that were planned for the upcoming days. Nonetheless, senior officials stress that, despite the ambush, the terror organization has taken a hard hit. The military estimates that, in the past day alone, close to fifty Hizbullah operatives were killed in Bint Jbeil.