Israeli troops 'infiltration' thwarted near UNIFIL post: Hezbollah

Hezbollah said it had forced Israeli troops to retreat Tuesday after they crossed into Lebanon near a UN peacekeeping (UNIFIL) post following Israel's announcement last week it was conducting ground incursions.

Hezbollah fighters fired at "an Israeli enemy force that infiltrated from behind the international forces' position in Labboune", a border village close to the coast, the Iran-backed group said.

The group said they "forced the infiltrating enemy force to withdraw behind the border strip".

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told reporters "we are in ongoing conversations and contact with UNIFIL to make sure they are not in the line of fire between Hezbollah and us".

On Monday, Hezbollah had ordered its fighters not to attack Israeli troops who recently moved behind a UN peacekeeping position near the border village of Maroun al-Ras.

On Sunday, UNIFIL warned that Israeli operations near their Maroun al-Ras position were "extremely dangerous" and compromised their safety.

A day earlier, the force said peacekeepers remained in their positions despite an Israeli request to "relocate".

Hezbollah said it had clashed with Israeli troops in several border locations including the Maroun al-Ras area and that it repelled attempted infiltrations there.

Israel has intensified its campaign against Hezbollah since September 23, killing more than 1,150 people and forcing more than one million people to flee their homes, according to official figures.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed between the Israeli border and the Litani River.