Hezbollah clashes with Israeli troops in border villages

Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli army tank near a border village with a guided missile on Wednesday, as attacks escalated after Israel intensified bombing of the country last month.

Hezbollah fighters "targeted a Merkava tank near the village of Ramia... with a guided missile", the group said in a statement, adding the attack was "in defense of Lebanon and its people".

Hezbollah later said its fighters in southern Lebanon were locked in clashes on Wednesday with Israeli troops "at point-blank range".

The group said militants were engaged in "ongoing" and "violent clashes with the Israeli enemy forces in the vicinity of the Al-Qawzah village at point-blank range with various types of machine guns," it said.