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The Israeli military said on Monday (April 13, 2026) its troops had completely surrounded a key town in southern Lebanon after killing more than 100 Hezbollah fighters there over the past week.

The announcement marks a significant advance in Israel’s ongoing invasion of southern Lebanon.

“The forces of the 98th Division have completed the encirclement of the town of Bint Jbeil and have begun an assault on it,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.

Over the past week, Israeli forces have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters in and around the town in “face-to-face” clashes and with air strikes, he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting that since Sunday the fighting in southern Lebanon had been “concentrated” in Bint Jbeil.

“The fighting continues. It has not stopped — it is ongoing all the time. Yesterday and today it has been concentrated in Bint Jbeil,” he said, according to a video statement released by his office on Monday (April 13, 2026).

Mr. Netanyahu said that Israeli troops were pushing Hezbollah fighters away from the border.

“We are talking about a solid security belt, deeper than before, one that prevents the danger of infiltration and pushes back the anti-tank threat,” he said.

“They are also dealing with the terror villages that were right up against us — every terror position, and there were many, has simply been flattened.”

The Iran-backed Hezbollah said it has been engaged for days in clashes with Israeli forces in Bint Jbeil. — AFP