The death toll of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon during fierce fighting with Lebanon's Hezbollah on Saturday rose to 11, after the Israeli army released that another four soldiers were killed in two separate incidents.

An Israeli officer and two soldiers were killed when an anti-tank missile hit their tank near the Wadi Sluki in the western sector village of Andoria, local newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported late Saturday.

In another incident, a Nahal soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile that hit the house in which he was stationed, the post said.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army confirmed that seven Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops were killed and some 80 were injured, 11 of them sustaining serious wounds, when the army expanded an operation into south Lebanon on the 32nd day of Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said an military helicopter with four crew members on board was shot down by Hezbollah guerrillas on Saturday evening, confirming an early claim by Hezbollah that its guerrillas shot down an Israeli military helicopter in southern Lebanon, using an anti-missile.

Military sources said one crew member was confirmed dead, adding that the fate of the other three crew members is not yet known.

Over 1,000 Lebanese and about 120 Israelis were killed since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on July 12.