[cite news|title=Israel OKs expansion of Lebanon campaign|date=2006-07-31|publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/31/mideast.main/index.html] ]The IDF was hitting the town with heavy shelling and 500-pound bombs. A total of five brigades were operating in the region and heavy gunfights were reported involving light machine guns and rockets.
On August 1, the IDF confirmed that 3 soldiers were killed, 25 injured as Hezbollah fighters fired anti-tank missiles at troops entering village of Ayta ash-Shab.
Israel Defense Forces said its troops had killed or wounded 20 Hezbollah forces in battles Tuesday. Hezbollah said four of its forces died in the fighting.
On August 2, paratroopers continued exchanging fire with Hezbollah guerillas in the village. The IDF reports killing seven Hezbollah men, and wounding 10 others. One IDF soldier was killed and two were seriously wounded in the fighting, which began before dawn Wednesday, and 12 others were lightly hurt.
Four Israeli army soldiers were killed before noon on August 9, after an antitank missile fired by Hezbollah gunmen hit and destroyed an IDF tank in the village. The tank that was struck belonged to the 847 reserve brigade, which has been operating in the sector under the command of the Carmeli reserve brigade. IDF sources reported that immediately after the attack the tank caught fire and soldiers were unable to approach it.
IDF sources assessed that a Kornet-type missile hit the tank, probably from close range. The fire that had erupted in the tank led officials to believe that the tanks' fire extinguisher system had failed to function. [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3288870,00.html]
On August 12, the Battle of Ayta ash-Shab became part of the broader Litani offensive. Fighting continued with five soldiers killed in the town and another 25 wounded on August 13.
ources
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/01/mideast.main/index.html Israel warns Lebanese to clear out"] , "CNN", 2006-08-01
* Greenberg, Hanan, [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284818,00.html "IDF casualties in south Lebanon"] , "Ynetnews", 2006-08-01
* Katz, Yaakov, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1153292045787&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "25 troops wounded in clashes with Hizbullah in Ayta a-Shab"] , "The Jerusalem Post", 2006-08-01
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/745131.html Three IDF soldiers killed in fierce battles with Hezbollah in south Lebanon village of Ayta a-Shab] , "Haaretz", 2006-08-01
* [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3285346,00.html Troops recount moments of horror] , "Jerusalem Post", 2006-08-02
* [http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=9519]
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