Israel army chief tells troops inside Lebanon that Hezbollah suffered 'heavy blow'

Israel's army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visited ground troops in southern Lebanon on Thursday, telling them Hezbollah suffered a "heavy blow" from its major bombardment targeting the Iran-backed group a day earlier.

"While you are operating and advancing at the front, yesterday we delivered a heavy and powerful blow to Hezbollah. They left Dahiyeh and moved to other locations from which they managed the fight," he told soldiers, according to a military transcript, referring to a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut.

"The objective defined for you is the removal of the direct threat to the residents of the north (of Israel), which you are carrying out on the ground."

Israeli strikes pummelled Lebanon on Wednesday, killing over 300 people and wounding over 1,100, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a video statement Thursday that "more than 200 (Hezbollah) terrorists were eliminated" the previous day.

"Hezbollah is isolated within Lebanon and cut off from its strategic artery in Iran. The Lebanese government understands more than ever the magnitude of the problem posed by the presence of a radical, fanatical terrorist organization on its soil," he added.

According to the Israeli army, Zamir visited troops stationed on the outskirts of the village of Bint Jbeil, famous for a fierce battle with Hezbollah in 2006.

The Iran-backed group said Thursday its fighters were engaged in point-blank clashes with Israeli forces in the the same village.

Located five kilometwrs (three miles) from the border, the hamlet holds symbolic signifigance for Hezbollah.

It is where its slain chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a landmark speech in 2000 marking the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon after nearly two decades of military occupation.