BEIRUT, March 7 - Israeli forces conducted an airborne operation during the night that saw troops deposited by helicopter near the eastern Lebanese town of Nabi Chit, residents and Lebanese state media reported on Saturday. Heavy Israeli strikes on Nabi Chit and neighboring communities accompanied the insertion, and Lebanon's health ministry said 16 people were killed in the attacks there over the previous 24 hours.
According to local residents and state media accounts, several Israeli helicopters deposited soldiers close to Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley. As the troops moved on foot, both residents and fighters aligned with Hezbollah engaged the forces with gunfire, the reports said. After the exchanges, the Israeli soldiers withdrew and left the area by helicopter while air strikes intensified over the town and nearby localities.
The military did not immediately respond to questions about the operation. Lebanon's health ministry said the toll of 16 reflected people killed in strikes during Friday as well as those killed in the intense overnight bombardment, and ministry officials indicated the figure was expected to rise.
Two security sources told Reuters that three army troops were among the dead. Those details remain as reported by the sources cited.
The overnight insertion into Nabi Chit represents an uncommon use of airborne forces in Lebanon. While Israeli ground operations have advanced into southern Lebanese border villages, the deployment of troops by helicopter is relatively rare in the current campaign. A previous maritime operation was referenced in recent reporting of a 2024 confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in which Israeli naval forces took a man from a Lebanese coastal town.
Overall, Israeli aerial and artillery strikes have killed more than 200 people across Lebanon since the recent flare-up began, and orders to evacuate have displaced roughly 300,000 people, the reporting said. Only about one third of those displaced are staying in government-run shelters, the figures indicate.
Residents described the intensity of the night. Shawki al-Masri, who lives in a town adjacent to Nabi Chit, called the bombardment "a night of hell." He said helicopters flew low over houses through the night and that townspeople fired at the aircraft as the warplanes began bombing. "It was a very violent night and only calmed down when the sun came up," he told reporters.
Hezbollah issued a statement saying it had fired on Israeli troops who had been deployed near Nabi Chit by four helicopters and that the Israeli soldiers then withdrew. The group said its fighters engaged the forces on the ground.
The United Nations on Saturday warned the confrontation appears set to worsen and urged urgent talks between Israel and Lebanon to halt the fighting. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said it was clear that ongoing military action would not produce a lasting victory for anyone. "Rather, they will only deepen instability and inflict further suffering," she said in a statement.
The nighttime airborne operation near Nabi Chit, the subsequent strikes that killed civilians, and the broader exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel are contributing to an escalating humanitarian and security crisis in Lebanon. Reporting on troop movements, casualty figures and displacement continues to evolve as authorities and local sources provide further information.