Israeli troops detonate Bint Jbeil stadium — a symbol of Lebanon's liberation
Israel's army released a video Tuesday of troops detonating the stadium of Bint Jbeil — a symbolic site where Hezbollah’s former leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, delivered his 2000 Liberation speech following Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
Israeli forces have been burning and destroying houses and buildings in southern border towns including Bint Jbeil, Khiam, Houla, Mays al-Jabal, and Shamaa.
Bint Jbeil, located around five kilometers north of the Israeli border, had been the scene of heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah for days before the truce went into force. It was also the site of some of the fiercest fighting during the 2006 war, when Hezbollah's resistance there became central to the group's narrative of defiance.
Before the truce, Hezbollah was engaged in "point-blank" clashes with Israeli forces in the town and had repeatedly reported targeting Israeli forces and vehicles there. Israeli forces said they had encircled it, but Hezbollah said its fighters ultimately forced troops to withdraw.
On Tuesday, amid a U.S.-brokered truce, recently extended by three more weeks, troops managed to reach the Bint Jbeil stadium. Hezbollah said its fighters launched several attacks on the troops, including on an army bulldozer that was demolishing homes there. The Israeli army said a soldier was severely wounded and another lightly injured in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack in Bint Jbeil.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/319844 |