The Israeli army has almost completely destroyed several villages in southern Lebanon, razing their homes and mosques, according to local security sources.
The military blew up the village of Ramia near Bint Jbeil in the border area, among other places, dpa learned from Lebanese security circles on Sunday. There was initially no official confirmation of this.
Soldiers from the international UN mission observed several Israeli units advancing from Israel across the demarcation line into Lebanon around a week ago.
A few days ago, a photo also circulated on social media showing Israeli soldiers apparently posing in front of the village's community building.
Since the start of its ground offensive in Lebanon in September, Israel's army has generally not released any details about troop movements or their strength.
According to Israel, the aim of the operation is to destroy positions of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia near the border. This should enable the residents of northern Israel to return to their villages.
They had fled the border area because of the ongoing daily attacks by Hezbollah since the start of the Gaza war over a year ago.
Satellite photos show the extent of the destruction.
Israel blows up village with Biblical shrine
A week earlier, the Israeli army destroyed another village, as the New York Times reported after analysing videos and satellite photos.
Soldiers blew up large parts of the village of Mhaibib, which is also in the border area.
The village was previously home to a shrine to Benjamin, son of Jacob, who is revered as a prophet in Islam and is also mentioned in the Bible.
Israel's military announced that it had "dismantled" a tunnel network used by Hezbollah that led through the "core of a village" in Lebanon. The military also released a video showing the demolition of the village, located on a hill.
According to Lebanese security sources, Yaroun, Maroun al-Ras, al-Dhahira, Blida, Mays al-Jabal, Hula, Markaba, Adaissa, Kafr Kila, al-Khiyam, Aita al-Shaab, are almost completely destroyed."
The town of Nabatiyeh in the south-east, a commercial centre of the region with its historical Monday market street, is also said to have been destroyed.
At the start of its ground offensive, the Israeli military had called on the residents of the Lebanese border area to leave for their safety.
At the same time, access to clean water supplies in Lebanon are being hit by the ongoing war, the peacekeeping mission United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said.
The UN children's organization UNICEF has highlighted the danger of cholera outbreaks resulting from lack of clean drinking water along the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon that UNIFIL monitors.
Further neutral soldiers killed in Israeli attack
The Lebanese army said on Sunday that three of its soldiers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military struck an army vehicle near Ain Ebel, not far from the border with Israel, according to Lebanese military officials.
The Lebanese army remains neutral in the conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli military. However there have been repeated strikes on the Lebanese army in which several soldiers have been killed and injured.
Israeli forces have previously also fired on UN peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon in several incidents, with at least four soldiers being injured.
On Sunday, UN officials said an Israeli army bulldozer "deliberately" demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence at a UN peacekeeper position in southern Lebanon.
Israel noted casualties of its own on Sunday, reporting the killing of a brigade commander during fighting in the Gaza Strip, along with five other military personnel in southern Lebanon.
Colonel Ehsan Daxa died in clashes in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, the army said. The Times of Israel wrote that the 41-year-old was one of the highest-ranking Israeli officers to be killed in the Gaza war. His tank was reportedly hit by a projectile.
The military also said five Israeli officers and soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon while participating in a skirmish in a Hezbollah tunnel. This marks one of the highest daily death tolls for the Israeli army so far.
The war between Israel and Hezbollah began on October 8 last year with rocket attacks by the Lebanese militia in support of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which had triggered the Gaza War with the terrorist attack on Israel the day before.
Since then, Hezbollah and Israel's military have been engaged in heavy shelling, hundreds of people have been killed, thousands injured and hundreds of thousands displaced, most of them in Lebanon.
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