Lebanon: Hezbollah says it is targeting Israeli soldiers who ‘crossed the border’

Lebanese Hezbollah said this Monday that it activated “explosive devices” as Israeli soldiers crossed the border from the Lebanese side, with Israel reporting four soldiers wounded. This is the first time Hezbollah, which has exchanged fire with Israel since the war in the Gaza Strip began more than six months ago, has announced such an operation.

Hezbollah militants “planted charges in the Tal Ismail area, close to” the Israeli border, which exploded after Israeli soldiers “crossed the border,” the group said in a statement. The Israeli army has not confirmed that its soldiers crossed the border into Lebanon.

Four soldiers wounded, Israel says

For its part, the IDF said that four of its soldiers “operating in the area on the northern border” were injured during the night, including one “seriously, as a result of an explosion of unknown origin.”

When asked by AFP, she refused to provide details, limiting herself to indicating that the investigation was “underway.” Since the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, there have been daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which claims to support its ally, the Palestinian Islamist movement.

The Hezbollah attack comes after a surge in tensions this weekend. On Saturday night, Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel using drones and missiles in response to a strike on its consulate in Damascus. At the same time, Hezbollah said it fired two salvos of Katyusha rockets at Israeli military positions located in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan. Tel Aviv responded with several strikes on Lebanese territory.