The Israelis died in a battle for the town Bint Jbeil
Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in fierce clashes with Hezbollah terrorists in south Lebanon.
Eight troops died near the town of Bint Jbeil, Israel's biggest loss of life in a single incident so far during its two-week offensive.

In Rome, UN-led crisis talks ended with no agreement to urge an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The eight Israelis were killed early on Wednesday morning as Israeli forces tried to take control of Bint Jbeil, a strategically located town near the border between Lebanon and Israel.

The Israeli army confirmed the deaths on Wednesday evening.

Israel says the town is a Hezbollah stronghold, used by the militants as a launching ground for the barrages of rockets fired daily into northern Israel.

Twenty-two soldiers were injured in the fighting, the Israeli army said.

A military source told the BBC that several soldiers were killed when the Israeli infantry were ambushed near the town shortly before dawn on Wednesday.

More were killed during a rescue operation, which was followed by an intense five-hour firefight.

Later, another Israeli soldier was killed in the border village of Maroun al-Ras, which Israel moved into over the weekend after several days of fighting.

In the southern city of Tyre, a massive explosion destroyed a six-storey building where a local Hezbollah leader was believed to have an apartment.