BEIRUT, 07 March. - (ANA) - At least 41 people were killed and 40 others wounded in clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops in the Bekaa Valley on Friday and Saturday as the conflict in Lebanon entered its sixth day.

 

Hezbollah claimed that it had repelled an attack by Israeli special forces, who raided the village of Nabi Chit close to the Syrian border.

 

The Israeli military launched airstrikes and fought gunbattles with Hezbollah fighters before withdrawing from the town, the Iran-backed group said.

 

Israeli media claimed that the forces were looking for the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli airman who disappeared during a mission in Lebanon in 1986.

 

The death toll from the Israeli attacks was confirmed by Lebanon's health ministry.

 

 

The Israeli military claimed to have killed commanders in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force and hit weapons sites in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon overnight.

 

It has not commented on the operation in Nabi Chit.

 

Hezbollah said in a statement it "detected the infiltration of four Israeli helicopters from the direction of Syria" on Friday night.

 

Its forces clashed with Israeli troops close to the cemetery in Nabi Chit using "light and medium weapons", it said.

 

"The clash escalated after the enemy force was exposed," it added, saying Israeli warplanes and helicopters launched some 40 strikes on the area to evacuate their troops.

 

Hezbollah fighters fired rockets at the Israeli forces as they withdrew, the group said in a separate statement.

 

Footage uploaded on social media appeared to show bursts of artillery fire in the air.

 

The Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah stronghold, has been frequently targeted by Israeli warplanes since October 2023, when the Lebanese group began cross-border attacks into Israel in response to the war on Gaza.

 

Israel has bombarded Shiite areas of Lebanon since Sunday, when Hezbollah intervened in the US-Israeli war on Iran following the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

 

The Bekaa Valley was subjected to intense Israeli airstrikes on Friday, including Nabi Chit which was hit at least 13 times, according to Lebanon's state-run news agency.

 

Lebanon's prime minister has warned of a "looming humanitarian disaster" after the Israeli military issued sweeping orders to depopulate the south of Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.

 

Some 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes over the past several days, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

 

At least 217 people have been killed and 798 wounded since Monday, according to Lebanese authorities.

 

 

 

 

Earlier on Friday, Ghana said two of its UN peacekeepers had been critically injured in a missile attack on its battalion's headquarters in southern Lebanon.

 

The Ghanaian army, which has contributed troops to the UNIFIL mission, did not name the attacker.

 

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of "direct aggression" against the UN mission.

 

Israeli forces have attacked UNIFIL positions multiple times since October 2023.

 

French President Emmanuel Macron – who is leading international efforts to stop the fighting in Lebanon – described the attack as "unacceptable" and called on all sides to respect the country's sovereignty.

 

UNIFIL is expected to end its decades-long presence in Lebanon by the middle of next year following Israeli and US pressure to discontinue its mandate.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/07 March 2026 - - -