Hezbollah on Wednesday said it was clashing with Israeli troops north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon amid a northward advance by Israeli ground forces, though the military dismissed the terror group’s claims, saying it was “unaware of anything unusual.”

The reported battles came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was “intensifying operations” in Lebanon by taking strategic positions and reinforcing the security buffer zone in a bid to counter the recent surge in drone attacks by Hezbollah. Earlier Tuesday, the IDF confirmed that it has expanded ground operations beyond the designated security zone in parts of southern Lebanon in recent days.

In a statement Wednesday, the Iran-backed group said its fighters “clashed with the enemy forces at point-blank range” with light and medium weapons in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, located on the northern bank of the Litani river, which has marked a de-facto frontier separating the war-torn south from the rest of Lebanon.

The village is near the eastern edge of the Israeli-declared “Yellow Line,” where its troops have been operating during the current round of fighting.

Since early Tuesday, the terror group has said its fighters have faced Israeli troops entering the town, which holds strategic importance due to its proximity to the major southern city of Nabatieh, just under five miles (7 kilometers) away. It has also said it launched several rocket, artillery and exploding drone attacks on Israeli troops and vehicles mobilizing along the river toward the nearby village of Yohmor al-Shaqif.

In response to the reports, the Israel Defense Forces said that it was “unaware of anything unusual.”

IDF maintains heavy strikes; 31 said killed Tuesday

Amid the ground advance, Israel continued its intensive strikes, saying midday Wednesday that over the previous 24 hours, it struck more than 150 Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites and operatives in the Lebanese cities of Tyre and Nabatieh, as well as in the Beqaa Valley. The IDF published footage of strikes.

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