IDF battles Hezbollah on the ground in Lebanon..

The IDF continues its ground assault against Hezbollah.

There was heavy fighting on two fronts:

The IDF engaged in an offensive against Hezbollah bases in Maroun er Ras opposite the Israeli town of Safed.

Originally, this was not supposed to be a major firefight and the Israelis were looking to destroy the Hezbollah tunnel fortified tunnel network in the area, which the IDF believed had been abandoned due to the heavy airstrikes.

Instead, the task force came under attack by Hezbollah forces hidden in the tunnels, a tactic American who served in Vietnam with recognize from the NVA playbook. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the initial ambush, but once the initial encounter took place the IDF rallied and took care of business, forcing Hezbolah to retreat with heavy losses.

On the second front, Hezbollah attempted to mount an offensive over the Israeli border near Rosh Hanikra in the western Galilee. THese assaults were likewise turned back with heavy losses, and the IAF brought heliocopter gunships into the fight to help break the Hezbollah attack and send them reeling back across the border....again with heavy losses.

The exact extent of Hezbollah casualties are unknown...but Hezbollah has issued orders forbidding funerals for its troops to hide the losses, so they must have been painful.

Israel has leafletted civilians and told them to to evacuate territory south of Litani River..so I assume that the next Israeli ground offensive will be aimed there.

In fact, I think it may have already gone further than that.

I have an unconfirmed report that the Israelis are already hitting Hezbollah bases and launching sites in central and eastern Lebanon as well as the south, have actually performed several cross-border raids into Syria in pursuit of fleeing Hezbollah troops. And I hear that truck convoys attempting to resupply Hezbolah with weapons are also being hit on the Syrian side of the border.

Sort of an ask, don't tell sort of thing...Basher Assad pretends that Syria isn't supplying Hezbollah with arms and the Israelis pretend to believe him...