South Front
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An explosion was heard near the separation line between Israel and Lebanon on July 12 afternoon, according to Hebrew and Arab media reports.
Initially, a security source and an informed source told Reuters that several members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah were wounded in an “attack”. From its side, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said that the group’s members had set a fire at line, setting off landmines, and that Israeli troops had fired warning shots during the incident.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced later that its troops had foiled an attempt by Lebanese suspects to damage the fence along the separation line. A video of the incident was released by the military, who said that it had used non-lethal explosives to scare off the suspects.
Lebanon has not commented on the incident yet. However, Ali Shoeib, a reporter for the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese news outlet Al-Manar, said that some young men threw fireworks near the fence and the IDF responded with live fire.
The incident took place as Hezbollah was preparing to celebrate the 2006 cross-border raid that kicked off a 34-day military conflict with the IDF.
It also came amid rising tensions along the separation line after Hezbollah set up two tents several dozen meters into the Shebaa Farms, which were occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War and later effectively annexed along with the Syrian Golan Heights. Lebanon says the area belongs to it.
On July 6, Hezbollah condemned what it called “dangerous measures” taken by the IDF in the northern part of the disputed town of Ghajar. Hezbollah accused Israel of erecting a wire fence and building a cement wall around the village.
Later on the same day, an anti-tank guided missile that was launched from southern Lebanon landed near Ghajar. The IDF responded with artillery strikes.
The new incident near the separation line will add to the tensions between Israel and Lebanon. However, a military confrontation between the IDF and Hezbollah remains highly unlikely, as both sides recognize the high cost of such a new conflict.
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