Lebanon Update: Full details on the ambushes/clashes/advances in Beit Lif and Aaitaroun:
> For the past week the 162nd Armored Division's been operating in the Beit Lif sector with several objectives. The immediate goal was to seize control of ridges between Beit Lif and Salhaneh that overlook border towns such as Shtula and Zarit.
> But more broadly the division is tasked with undermining Hezbollh's forward positions in the "central sector", located in the eastern part of the Aziz Division's area of responsibility. The "central sector" leading up to Qana is characterized by heavy slopes, heights, forested patches, and low-lying ravines.
> The 401st Armored Brigade conducted the initial advances in Qouzah and Debel. On March 30th at ~5pm, Hezbollah targeted one of the unit's Merkava tanks with tandem projectiles in southeastern Beit Lif. But in recent days the 933rd Nahal Infantry Brigade has also been deployed to the frontlines.
> Nahal's 934th Patrol Battalion led the way in an advance from Ramyeh and Qouzah to the southern and SW outskirts of Beit Lif. Taking advantage of cover from foliage and nearby structures, a squad from the 934th Battalion gradually entered the town. At 6:30pm the reconnaissance grouping paused their advance after entering the town's first houses.
> They let a tank bypass them in order to protect the infantry and lead combing operations. The forward reconnaissance group was accompanied by members of the Oketz canine unit that were using dogs to detect booby traps in complex terrain. As the infantry were crossing a local road Radwan elements detonated explosives, launched mortars, and opened fire on the Israelis with small arms and machine guns. During this first clash 1 Israeli was killed and 3 were wounded.
> A nearby squad of Nahal patrolmen rushed forward to provide support, but they came under fire from the rear and flank, killing 3 other soldiers, including the leader of the group, Captain Noam Madmoni. It isn't clear whether these soldiers were still in their Eitan armored fighting vehicle when they were targeted. During the commotion, tanks were deployed to the scene of the clashes in order to provide fire support during the evacuations. Hezbollah fighters targeted these tanks with ATGMs, but Israeli media claims they missed.
> After hours of heavy engagements, the IDF managed to retrieve all the killed and wounded and evacuated them from a nearby helicopter landing point. Looking more broadly, the IDF has seeped into the southern neighborhood of Beit Lif over the past 2 days, which is separated from the town center by a minor creak near Wadi Muzlem.
> The 401st Brigade continues conducting raids from Khallat al-Jawwar towards Beit Lif's eastern and Rchaf's southern outskirts. On March 30th, there was an interesting report from local sources about IDF activity around Wadi al-Ghadr, situated between the towns of Srebbine and Haris.
> Both of these towns are located north of the contact line. Perhaps the reports were faulty, both it's possible that the IDF is now using the fields north of Debel as a springboard to bypass well-defended towns from the flanks and infiltrate their rears. In this case such an advance would give Israel access to some of the ridges overlooking the entry/exit points of key towns like Yater & At-Tiri.
> On March 31st at 6pm, Hezbollah reported on a tank infiltration into Rchaf. By tomorrow morning we'll get more details on the extent of this attempted advance. It's important to note that elements of the 401st Brigade will likely expand their salient near Birket al-Hajar eastwards in an effort to isolate forward Radwan/Aziz elements in Hanine, Bint Jbeil, and Aaitaroun. Advances from the flanks also reduce the attrition imposed during head-on assaults through dense neighborhoods.
