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 » Special Report | Video archive | E-mail us: Your stories | How to help civilians Israeli troops meet heavy resistanceHalf of Hezbollah's strength destroyed, Israeli military estimates
An injured Israeli soldier is taken away from the border with Lebanon. RELATED
QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSAVIVIM, Israel (CNN) -- Israeli special forces Thursday directly engaged with Hezbollah fighters inside southern Lebanon in what the Israeli military says is an effort to wipe out the remaining capabilities of the Islamic militia. Hezbollah met the two teams of Israeli special forces with heavy fire, wiping out a tank and an armored bulldozer with anti-tank missiles. Three Israeli soldiers were injured in the ninth day of fighting, including one seriously, the Israel Defense Forces said. There has been no information on casualties sustained by the Hezbollah militia in the two days of fighting. The Israeli military estimates that its air assault on Lebanon has destroyed about half of Hezbollah's military strength. CNN's Paula Newton, reporting from near the Israel-Lebanon border, says the Israeli military is employing ground forces to destroy the remaining artillery, many of which is believed to be hidden in caves, tunnels and basements. While Israel began its military operation in response to Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers inside Israeli last week, the mission has expanded. "We are part of a moderate coalition of nations in the region which will confront this extreme lunatic coalition, the axis of evil that ranges from Tehran to Damascus to the Hezbollah," said Israeli Security Cabinet Minister Isaac Herzog. "We are aiming and focused at dismantling the capability of this organization, prohibiting it from attacking Israel again and changing the rules of the game in the region." Israeli warplanes late Wednesday struck a Hezbollah bunker on the south side of Beirut believed to be used by the militia's leaders, according to IDF. Military sources said dozens of warplanes dropped 23 tons of bombs on the target. "We thought that the Hezbollah leadership was gathered there," Israeli Foreign Ministry official Yigal Palmor said Thursday. "We have no information as of this moment whether they were there or not or whether there were any casualties or not." Hezbollah said none of its leaders were in the bunker at the time. The IDF said it carried out an airstrike on three Hezbollah training camps and on Hezbollah-run Al Manar television in eastern Lebanon on Thursday. In the hours that followed, Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah militants rained on cities in northern Israel, including in and around Tiberias, as well as Karmiel, in the east, the IDF said. There were no reports of injuries. In southern Beirut, CNN's Nic Robertson described hearing a "huge" blast shortly after daybreak Thursday. Lebanese TV showed a large plume of smoke over the city skyline. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted or hit. On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes dropped 23 tons of bombs on a bunker where Hezbollah leaders were holed up, according to the IDF. Hezbollah said via its Al-Manar television station that none of its leaders was in the bunker at the time of the huge Israeli airstrike. Hezbollah earlier said Israel hit a religious center with the attack. Dozens of bombs landed at about 11:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET), the IDF said. CNN crews in Beirut said they didn't hear any explosions or the sound of jets at the time the strike is said to have occurred. The conflict so far has caused "immeasurable loss" in Lebanon, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Wednesday. He again called for a cease-fire and denounced Israel as a "savage war machine" responsible for more than 300 deaths in Lebanon. (Watch as hospitals in Lebanon are overwhelmed with the wounded -- 2:23) Another 1,000 people have been wounded and 500,000 displaced since hostilities began a week ago, Siniora said in a televised national address. (Watch the signs of a deepening crisis in Lebanon -- 3:57) The Lebanese Internal Security Forces reported, however, that 216 people had been killed and 524 injured as of 8 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) Wednesday. Siniora's call for a comprehensive cease-fire came as Israel's military continued its battle -- by air and by ground -- against Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon. (Watch as troops enter Lebanon and air raid sirens blare -- 1:44) Two Israeli soldiers died in heavy fighting, while Hezbollah rockets killed two Israeli children in northern cities, the IDF said. CNN's Karl Penhaul reported seeing many civilian casualties at the main hospital in Tyre, Lebanon, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Israeli border. In its ongoing air assault, Israel's military targeted Beirut, hitting a vehicle in the city's Christian neighborhood -- shocking residents who do not wholly support the Islamic militant group. Israel has rejected calls for a cease-fire until it can push Hezbollah back from its northern frontier and retrieve two soldiers kidnapped in a cross-border raid July 12. Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday, killing two children in Nazareth, the southernmost point where Israeli casualties have been reported so far. With Wednesday's deaths, 29 Israelis -- 15 civilians and 14 soldiers -- have been killed in the weeklong fighting, according to the IDF. The Israeli cities of Haifa, Tiberias, Acre, Shlomi and Carmiel were also targeted Wednesday. (See map of the area) Most residents are staying in bomb shelters or have left. The IDF confirmed its ground troops launched what it described as a pinpoint operation inside southern Lebanon. But the IDF did not say where the operation took place. "Their mission is to destroy Hezbollah outposts," an IDF spokesman told CNN early Wednesday. (Watch a soldier describe his orders to 'dismantle, attack, destroy' -- 1:25) Backing the operation were artillery units in northern Israel, able to fire howitzer rounds up to 17 miles (28 kilometers) inside Lebanon. Disband, disarm is goalIsraeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Hezbollah was the biggest obstacle to Lebanese sovereignty, and Israel's end game was to disband and disarm it. Regev said Israel will not initiate conflict with Syria or Iran -- the financial and military backers of Hezbollah -- unless they attack Israel. "I can tell you unequivocally we have no intention of widening this conflict," he said. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, stressed the latest operation was "in no way an invasion of Lebanon." For days a "small group" of Israeli troops has been traveling into Lebanon near the border fence, the IDF said. The goal is stop Hezbollah's cross-border attacks by destroying minefields and tunnels into Israel. A CNN team in Tyre heard explosions, drones and helicopters throughout the night. An IDF spokesman declined to say whether the helicopter movements there were linked to the ground operation. Israeli airstrikes again pounded the Beirut airport and the nearby southern suburbs. The Israeli military has justified the commercial airport as a target, saying Hezbollah weapons flowed through there. With the airport not functioning, residents have been stranded in the city with few options for escape. The United States and Israel consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The group, which has claimed responsibility for terrorist acts, also operates an extensive network of social services in Lebanon. In addition, Hezbollah holds seats in the Lebanese parliament. In other developments:CNN's Paula Newton, Matthew Chance, Nic Robertson, Elise Labott and Karl Penhaul contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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