Israeli troops are fighting fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of UN peacekeepers.

A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force (Unifil) said they are monitoring “heavy clashes” in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the north-east.

Unifil’s headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon’s southern edge close to the border with Israel.

Smoke rising above a Lebanese hill between Tair Harfa and Chamaa villages
Peacekeepers are monitoring heavy clashes (AP)

“We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” Unifil spokesman Andrea Tenenti said.

Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes – for the moment.”

Several Unifil posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on October 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded.

The fighting came a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 attack on Israel respectively.

The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.

Israeli warplanes fly over Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut,
Air strikes are continuing as the war grinds on (AP)

Israel’s war has caused heavy destruction across Gaza, destroying parts of the territory and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive.

The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel has also launched air strikes against Lebanon after the Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ attack last October.

A full-blown war erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.