Military sources were quoted as saying that Hezbollah guerillas were equipped with anti-tank missiles, which have caused losses among IDF in the Lebanese village of Ayta al-Shaab.

IDF announced early Wednesday that two IDF paratroopers were killed Tuesday evening in battles in another southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbail.

Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera satellite channel reported that 11 Israeli soldiers were killed in fierce clashes with Hezbollah guerillas in south Lebanon on Wednesday.

The Israeli soldiers were killed during confrontations with Hezbollah guerillas in the Lebanon-Israel border area, said al-Jazeera, without revealing further details.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army concerning the report.

Earlier on Tuesday, three soldiers were killed and at least 14 were wounded in southern Lebanon, where heavy battles between IDF troops and Hezbollah militants have been raging since late Monday.

The fighting, which has raged in the area since Monday night, continued as Israeli security cabinet met in Jerusalem to discuss an expansion of the ground offensive.

Violence between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on July 12 when Hezbollah guerillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight during cross-border attacks.

Israeli troops are carrying out ground operations in south Lebanon and have met with fierce confrontations from Hezbollah fighters.

Over 100 Israelis and about 1,000 Lebanese have been killed in the 29 days of fighting.