Smoke rises from Hizbollah stronghold in south Beirut after being hit three times by Israeli warplanes, July 23, 2006. -Xinhua/AFP

The Israeli troops advanced further into southern Lebanon in a bid to tighten their grip on the area, as the massive Israeli offensive entered its 13th day yesterday, Doha-based al-Jazeera TV channel reported.

After taking control of the hilltop village of Maroun al-Ras on Sunday, the troops are pushing their way further towards a major town Bint Jbeil, another Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon.

Nine soldiers were injured in heavy exchanges of fire that took place Monday morning between Israeli ground forces and Hezbollah guerrillas in the area between the village of Maroun al-Ras and the town of Bint Jbeil, Israeli media reported.

A senior Israel Air Force official said that helicopters and warplanes accompanied the forces' movement on the ground and fired at the area before and during the invasion. The air force has also provided the troops on the ground with intelligence.

Two Hezbollah fighters were captured by Israeli troops on Sunday night in the village of Maroun al-Ras, which is less than 500 meters north of the Israeli border.

Overall, 270 targets in Lebanon were bombarded in the last 24 hours, among them more than 35 suspicious vehicles which aided in shooting rockets at Israel, more than 50 buildings and headquarters used as cover for militants and weaponry, media networks used by the Hezbollah, a bridge, and areas for launching rockets.

On July 12, Israel launched a massive offensive in Lebanon in retaliation for the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerillas in a cross-border attack which also killed eight others.

Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into northern Israel since the violence broke out while Israeli jets and artillery have responded with massive bombardments on targets across Lebanon.

More than 300 Lebanese and 37 Israelis have been killed in firefights between the two sides, while tens of thousands of foreign nationals have been fleeing Lebanon.