Two Lebanese security sources have reported that Israel conducted a shelling operation in a southern Lebanese border zone on Friday, in response to an explosion near the border fence, as confirmed by the Israeli army.
While one security source claimed that the shelling ensued due to an infiltration attempt from the Lebanese border, the Israeli army insisted that their response was prompted by a blast causing only minor damage to the border barrier.
‘IDF (army) forces are currently responding with artillery fire towards Lebanese territory,’ the Israeli military said in a statement.
The villages of Dhayra and Alma al-Shaab were specifically targeted by the Israeli shelling, as stated by AFP correspondents in the vicinity.
The second security source, speaking under the condition of anonymity owing to a lack of press authorization, revealed that the strike hit a Lebanese army post in Dhayra.
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The recent escalation marks the latest development in a sequence of events at the Israel-Lebanon border, following an intense attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel over the weekend, leading to intense confrontations as Hamas and Israel engage in a week-long period of heavy gunfire exchanges.
On Saturday, more than 1,300 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed as hundreds of Hamas gunmen crossed the border from Gaza into Israel.
In retaliation, Israel conducted airstrikes targeting Hamas locations in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,800 people.
Hezbollah reported that three of its members were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, while Palestinian fighters insisted they had successfully prevented an infiltration attempt.
According to Israel, they struck Hezbollah observation posts on Tuesday, while Hamas’s armed wing asserted they were responsible for firing rockets.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted an Israeli position close to the Lebanese village of Dhayra, leading to three people being injured by Israeli retaliatory fire.