JERUSALEM, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Israeli ground forces have begun operating beyond what it described as a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon, state-owned Kan TV news reported Tuesday.
A security official told the broadcaster that the military was working to counter Hezbollah's explosive drones, and had struck about 150 targets in recent days, including more than 90 weapons depots.
The military is using nets and special ammunition to thwart the drones, but has yet to find a comprehensive solution, the official said.
Although a ceasefire was announced in April, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had begun a new wave of strikes on Hezbollah sites in several areas of southern Lebanon.
The announcement came after the military issued an evacuation warning for residents of Nabatieh, urging all people in the area of the southern Lebanese city to leave "immediately" ahead of planned strikes.
Also on Tuesday, three alerts sounded in western Galilee in northern Israel within about two hours over suspected drone infiltrations.
The Israeli military said in a statement that an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah at Israeli troops detonated inside Israeli territory near the border in a military area. No casualties were reported. Later, another explosive drone fell inside Israeli territory near the border.
Lebanon's Public Health Ministry said on Tuesday that 28 people had been killed and 104 wounded in Israeli attacks across the country over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since early March to 3,213.
The ministry said 11 people were killed in an Israeli strike in the Beqaa Valley on Monday, including two girls and a woman, with rescue efforts continuing. A paramedic was killed and two others wounded in a strike in the Tyre district, it said. ■
