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Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah trade fire across border; casualties reported Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah trade fire across border; casualties reported
(about 1 hour later)
JERUSALEM — Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia exchanged fire Wednesday across the border. The Israeli military said there casualties, but did not immediately have numbers. JERUSALEM — Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia exchanged fire Wednesday across the border in a region monitored by U.N. peacekeepers, causing injuries and the apparent death of at least one U.N. soldier.
The clashes began when an anti-tank missile struck an Israeli army vehicle traveling along the border. The attack was followed by mortar rounds launched from Lebanon that landed near Israeli troops near Mount Hermon, according to Israeli military officials. The Israeli military noted “a number of injuries,” but did not give precise figures. The United Nations said a peacekeeper was killed in southern Lebanon in what appeared to be related to the cross-border fire.
The barrage was answered by 25 artillery shells fired by the Israelis at suspected Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon, according to anonymous Lebanese officials quoted by the Associated Press. The clashes began when an anti-tank missile struck an Israeli army vehicle traveling in a convoy along the border. The attack was followed by mortar rounds launched from Lebanon that landed near Israeli troops in the foothills of Mount Hermon, according to Israeli military officials.
The barrage was answered by dozens of artillery shells fired by the Israelis at suspected Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon. Israeli military officials said their forces launched “aerial and ground strikes at Hezbollah operational positions.”
Lebanon’s English-language newspaper, The Daily Star, reported that a U.N. peacekeeping soldier was killed by Israeli fire.
Hezbollah leaders previously vowed to retaliate against Israel for an attack earlier this month.Hezbollah leaders previously vowed to retaliate against Israel for an attack earlier this month.
In that incident, a missile struck a convoy traveling near the Syria-Israel border in the Golan Heights. Six members of Iranian-backed Hezbollah were killed, including the son of the former head of Hezbollah security. An Iranian general was also killed. In that incident, a missile on Jan. 18 struck a convoy traveling near the Syria-Israel border in the Golan Heights. Six members of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, as well as an Iranian general, were killed.
Israeli officials have said that the group was planned a large-scale “terror attack” against Israel. Among the dead was Jihad Mughniyah, the son of Imad Mughniyah, a former top militant in the group who was assassinated in a 2008 car bombing in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Israel is suspected of playing a role in the elder Mughniyah’s killing.
The Israeli military has been bracing a retaliatory strike and has moved soldiers, tanks and air-defense systems into area in recent days. Israeli officials said that the group was planned a large-scale “terror attack” against Israel.
The exchange in fire Wednesday took place in a contested area known by the Israelis as Shebaa Farms. Hezbollah says the area belongs to Lebanon, and the United Nations defines the area is part of Syria. The Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia and Israel fought a brutal war in 2006. Hezbollah forces are now fighting in Syria to bolster the Assad government against rebel forces, including members of Islamic State.
The Israeli military has been bracing a retaliatory strike, moving soldiers, tanks and air-defense systems into area in recent days.
After this morning’s exchange, Israeli civilians were evacuated from some areas along the border.
The exchange in fire Wednesday took place in a contested area known by the Israelis as Har Dov and by others as Shebaa Farms. Hezbollah says the area belongs to Lebanon, and the United Nations defines the area as part of Syria.
“The tension in the north is very tricky. It’s a very flammable situation,” said Maj. Gen. Israel Ziv, a reserve officer in the Israel army and former chief of operations.
“Israel has to contain it, to defend our interests, but not get drawn in” to the Syrian battlefields, Ziv said.
If Hezbollah had fired rockets at Israeli population centers, instead of Israeli troops along the border, Israel would have likely hit back hard.
Some analysts estimate that as many as 1,000 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Syria, while others put that number in the hundreds. Hezbollah does not disclose such information, but its losses in Syria are widely believed to have been significant.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah not to escalate.
“I suggest that all those who are challenging us on our northern border, look at what happened in Gaza,” he said, referring to the 50-day war between Israel and the Islamist militant movement Hamas that left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead and swathes of Gaza in ruins.
“Hamas suffered the most serious blow since it was founded this past summer and the [Israeli military] is prepared to act on every front,” Netanyahu said.
Hezbollah’s television station, Al-Manar, issued a statement from Hezbollah that read, “At 11:35, the battalion of Quneitra Martyrs launched an operation targeting a military convoy of the Zionist enemy, which included officers and soldiers. A number of vehicles were destroyed and several were injured.”Hezbollah’s television station, Al-Manar, issued a statement from Hezbollah that read, “At 11:35, the battalion of Quneitra Martyrs launched an operation targeting a military convoy of the Zionist enemy, which included officers and soldiers. A number of vehicles were destroyed and several were injured.”
The name, Quneitra Martyrs, appears to be a reference to the Hezbollah forces who killed in the Golan Heights earlier this month.The name, Quneitra Martyrs, appears to be a reference to the Hezbollah forces who killed in the Golan Heights earlier this month.
Israeli military officials said rumors that an Israeli soldier were kidnapped by Hezbollah forces were untrue. A kidnap of Israeli soldiers was one of the events that led to the 2006 war.
Naylor reported from Beirut.