BEIRUT

Hezbollah said Wednesday that its fighters clashed with an Israeli infantry force trying to infiltrate the town of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, the Lebanese group said it inflicted losses on the Israeli force and forced it to retreat.

It marked the first direct clash between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces since Israel launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Since Sept. 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, killing more than 1,073 people and injuring over 2,950 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The top leadership of Hezbollah was killed in the Israeli assaults, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,600 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.