JERUSALEM 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that the army has killed 320 Hezbollah fighters since Oct. 8, according to media reports. 

The remarks were delivered during a televised news conference following an operational assessment of the Northern Command, as reported by The Times of Israel newspaper.

Gallant accused Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah of dragging Lebanon into a “harsh reality.”

He also emphasized the consequences of the Lebanese group’s actions. “The ones who will pay the price are the residents of Lebanon and Hezbollah forces.”

Gallant presented pictures that purportedly showed dead Hezbollah fighters. 

Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.

The cross-border escalation comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 36,170 people since an attack on Oct. 7 by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.  

*Writing by Mohammad Sio