Israeli military vehicles on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon on March 18, 2026. (Credit: Ammar Awad/Reuters)
Heavy clashes with automatic weapons and rocket fire took place overnight from Wednesday to Thursday between Hezbollah and the Israeli army in Taybeh, a village located four kilometers from the Blue Line, in the Marjayoun district.
Hezbollah claimed the destruction of numerous Merkava tanks and reported injuries among Israeli forces. The Israeli army, which has been trying to enter the locality for several days, is also carrying out airstrikes and artillery fire there.
Announcing several attacks carried out during these clashes, Hezbollah said it had destroyed six Israeli Merkava tanks since midnight, near Baydar al-Faqaani, north of the municipality, using guided missiles.
According to Hezbollah, this is the "third time in a week" the Israeli army has tried to advance into this area. The Israelis also tried to push towards the neighboring village of Deir Seriane, but their movements were repelled and five Merkava tanks were destroyed, according to Hezbollah, which claims that soldiers "fled" the area and that helicopters were dispatched to evacuate the wounded under heavy fire. Local and security sources of our correspondent in southern Lebanon reported that Israeli helicopters were observed in the area during the night, firing machine guns.
Israel also carried out several night-time air strikes across Lebanon's South, notably on Sharqieh (Nabatieh), where an entire building was destroyed and several neighboring houses were damaged; the Jabbour heights (Jezzine) and the Berghoz valley in the neighboring district of Hasbaya; Shaqra (Bint Jbeil), destroying a residential apartment block; Burj al-Shemali, east of Sour.
Meanwhile, A hospital in Nabatieh condemned an Israeli airstrike that caused damage to several of its wards. At around 1am, the management of the Sheikh Ragheb Harb University Hospital in Toul, on the outskirts of Nabatieh, condemned an Israeli attack that struck a neighboring building and caused "significant damage" to several of its departments, notably its intensive care unit. Several people, including patients and staff, suffered from smoke inhalation, the hospital reported, adding that it would continue to fulfill its mission “despite the circumstances.”
The night was calm, however, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Israel did not carry out any strikes.
The total death toll from Israel's attacks on Lebanon since March 2 stands at 968, with more than 2,432 wounded. More than one million people have been forcibly displaced as a result of mass evacuation orders for entire regions of the country, including the entirety of the southern suburbs of Beirut, all areas south of the Zahrani River, and all of Sour and the surrounding Palestinian refugee camps.
