The third company walked into a well-prepared ambush in the outskirts of Aynata, the town immediately to the east of Bint Jbeil. Lebanese accounts refer to this battle as "the battle of Aynata" as the Israeli forces had not yet entered Bint Jbeil proper. The olive grove in southern Aynata where the clash occurred was later renamed "Liberation square" (). The southern section of Aynata was defended by two squads [majmu’a]. A Hezbollah squad would normally include 7 – 10 soldiers.