Ten Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack, the military said.

Hezbollah claimed to have caused Israeli casualties in hits on five tanks moving on the road to Bint Jbail and around Maroun al-Ras, a hilltop village closer to the border that Israeli ground forces seized in heavy fighting over the weekend.

Bint Jbail holds a strong symbolism for Hezbollah. Signs around the city tout its nickname, earned for vehement backing of the guerrillas even while Israeli troops held the south. A day after Israel troops ended their occupation in 2000, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah went straight to Bint Jbail for his first celebration rally.

Much of the town's population of 200,000 is believed to have fled, but many are still there. A Red Cross doctor who visited Bint Jbail on Sunday, Dr. Hassan Nasreddine, said he saw families crowded into schools and mosques and other shelters. He could not estimate how many remained.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in remarks published Monday that an Israeli ground invasion would not protect Israel from Hezbollah rocket attacks. He said the priority is for a cease-fire and was open to discussing ideas on how to end the crisis.