3 militants killed and 5 Israeli troops hurt in Shebaa Farms clash
Israeli troops on Sunday killed three militants who crossed in from Lebanon into the occupied Shebaa Farms, the Israeli army said, as tensions surge on the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war.
Since Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip erupted on October 7, the Israel-Lebanon border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces.
The Israeli military said that troops patrolling the Shebaa Farms area "identified a terrorist cell who crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and fired at the forces."
"The soldiers engaged and responded with live fire ... terrorists were killed," the army said in a statement.
Three gunmen who clashed with troops were shot dead, the army said, revising an earlier statement that said four militants had been killed.
The army said five soldiers were wounded in the firefight.
A group called Islamic Glory Brigades claimed responsibility for the infiltration. The Associated Press was told by Hezbollah and the Lebanese branches of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad that the group was not affiliated with them.
Tensions along the border spiked after the killing earlier this month of Hamas' deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut southern suburb, in a strike widely attributed to Israel.
Violence on the border since October 7 has killed 190 people, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists, according to an AFP tally.
In Israel's north, at least nine soldiers and five civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet, Associated Press
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/302745 |