The PAC-3 is designed to defend against ballistic and cruise missiles.
Photo: AP
The exchange of fire began Friday afternoon.
On Wednesday, a well-planned Hizbullah ambush on the outskirts of Bint Jbail devastated Battalion 51 of the Golani Brigade, leaving eight soldiers, including three officers, dead and 22 wounded.
Earlier Friday, the IDF confirmed that Nur Shalhov, a senior Hizbullah official who was responsible for smuggling weapons into Lebanon, including the long-range missile array the organization possesses that can reach deep into Israel, was killed Thursday in an IAF strike.
Shalhov was hit by IAF missiles while traveling in a car in the Bekaa Valley, and a number of other Hizbullah operatives were also killed in the attack. The car was packed with missiles when it was hit.
Shalhov was the second high-ranking Hizbullah official that the army has confirmed dead since the beginning of the conflict.
Since Friday morning, the IAF has struck two Hizbullah rocket launchers, six buildings belonging to the organization, five weapons warehouses, and two Hizbullah bases. A total of over 40 targets were hit in IAF strikes.
Missiles fired by IAF jets destroyed three buildings in the village of Kfar Jouz near the market town of Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon, and three people were killed and nine wounded, including four children, Lebanese security officials said. The raid apparently targeted an apartment belonging to a Hizbullah operative.
Civil defense teams were struggling in the village to rescue some people believed to be trapped or buried under the rubble of one of the buildings, a three-story structure, witnesses said.
In addition, IAF jets used bombs and missiles to hit roads in southeastern Lebanon and suspected Hizbullah hideouts in hills and mountainous areas, security officials said.
Army Radio reported that the IDF had decided to deploy batteries of Arrow and Patriot missiles in the central coast region.
Meanwhile, IDF forces continued to search for weapons and terrorist infrastructure in the region of Bint Jbail in southern Lebanon overnight.
Five Hizbullah operatives were killed during clashes. No wounded were reported among IDF soldiers.
The IAF also kept up the intensity of its operations, as over 130 targets were targeted overnight including a Hizbullah base in the Lebanon valley, from which long-range rockets were fired at Israel. An additional 57 targets used by the terror group were struck, among them tunnels, gas stations and tents.
The Air Force also targeted six Hizbullah communication centers and six rocket launchers.
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Magal
Acesse: http://hebreu.blogspot.com
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