The soldiers "fell during combat in southern Lebanon", the army said in a statement. Their deaths mean 47 Israeli troops have been killed in combat with Hezbollah since September 30, when Israel invaded Lebanon.

The army's announcement came after new Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said there would be no easing up in Israel's war on Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on social media platform X shared an image of the "Golani" Brigade symbol -- the unit the soldiers killed belonged to -- a green olive tree against a yellow background, with a broken heart emoji.

Since September 23, Israel has stepped up its war on Lebanon, mainly targeting south Beirut and the east and south of the country. On September 30, it invaded the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, an Israeli strike hit Aramoun, a densely packed area south of Beirut, which the health ministry said killed eight people.

Strikes also sounded over the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday night, with AFP footage showing smoke rising from the site of one of the strikes. The hit came after Lebanese state media reported a wave of Israeli raids on the area in 24 hours.

Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had fired ballistic missiles at the Israeli army's headquarters in Tel Aviv, which also houses the defence ministry.

The Israeli army, meanwhile, claimed it had intercepted some of the "five projectiles" that had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for firing missiles at "enemy army forces" in northern Israel just before midnight.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,360 people have been killed since October 2023 when Hezbollah and Israel began engaging in cross-border clashes.

Rocket fire from Lebanon on Tuesday killed two residents of the northern Israeli city of Nahariya. The deaths bring to 45 the number of people killed in northern Israel as a result of rocket fire from Lebanon.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.