Israel bombs South after Hezbollah stages 'solidarity' attack in Shebaa Farms
Hezbollah on Sunday said it fired “a large number of artillery shells and guided missiles” at three Israeli military posts in the occupied Shebaa Farms as part of "liberating what's left of occupied Lebanese land and in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance."
Israel responded by firing artillery shells at areas in south Lebanon as one of its drones struck “Hezbollah infrastructure” in the Shebaa Farms area in response to the early morning attack. The "infrastructure" turned out to be the tent that Hezbollah had erected in the summer in the disputed area. The move had sparked months of tensions with Israel and the U.N. has been working to persuade Hezbollah to remove the tent.
Hezbollah fighters quickly set up another tent in the area on Sunday to replace the destroyed one. Israel responded by firing three shells but Hezbollah's militants remained in the area according to Hezbollah media outlets. Reports that the shelling followed another Hezbollah attack on the Shebaa Farms turned out to be baseless.
In an English-language statement, the Israeli army said it “has taken preparational measures" to confront attacks from Lebanon amid its ongoing and unprecedented war with the Palestinian Hamas movement.
“We will continue to operate in all regions and at any time necessary to ensure the safety of the Israeli civilians,” it vowed.
Lebanese residents near the border area told AFP they had heard a dozen rockets being fired towards Israel in the morning.
An AFP photographer reported that Israeli surveillance drones flew over the border region.
Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said the shelling wounded two Lebanese citizens in the Kfarshouba area.
Israel warned Hezbollah against being involved in the fighting.
"We recommend Hezbollah not to come into this. If they come we are ready," army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.
The U.N. peacekeeping force deployed along Lebanon’s southern border, UNIFIL, called for “everyone to exercise restraint” and make use of the force's “liaison and coordination mechanisms to de-escalate” and prevent a fast deterioration of the security situation. It said it had detected several rockets fired from southeast Lebanon toward “Israeli-occupied territory,” followed by artillery fire from Israel toward Lebanon.
UNIFIL added that it is in contact with authorities on both sides of the border at all levels “to contain the situation and avoid a more serious escalation.”
There are 13 points of dispute along the so-called Blue Line, the frontier demarcated by the U.N. in 2000 after Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon.
In 2006 Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers. The two countries remain technically at war.
On Saturday, Hezbollah had praised Hamas for its "heroic operation" and said its leadership was following the developments and "in direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance at home and abroad."
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press, Agence France Presse
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