JERUSALEM, July 26 -- The Israeli army suffered heavy casualties Wednesday in its fierce battle to take the Hezbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil in what has developed into the heaviest ground combat so far in a war now into its third week.

Arab news outlets reported the deaths of at least nine and as many as a dozen Israeli troops, numbers unconfirmed by Israeli officials, who did acknowledge significant casualties.

Bint Jbeil, we have been told several times over the last few days, has already been taken.

Seen on French public TV news last night: a "report" (read IDF photo-op) of how IDF "took" Bint Jbeil. Tanks drive along tracks in dusty countryside. Young Israelis in olive-green combat fatigues smile. One youngster, too young to be there, nice smile, neither macho nor muscular but even a bit goofy, the kind that makes you think this is just another very ordinary nice Israeli kid who's defending his country (which is of course what you're supposed to think, this is angelisation as opposed to demonisation) tells us:

(rough transcript from memory)

It's not easy fighting Hizbullah because they shoot at us from hiding. They daren't come out into the open because we'd walk all over them.

All this with a naive smile. The thrill of victory at Bint Jbeil. His togs weren't even dusty. He did look like a nice kid. I hope they kept him for the photo-ops and didn't send him into the real fighting at Bint Jbeil.