Israel has deployed their troops on the Lebanese border amid an “infiltration” of “suspects” which are thought to be Hezbollah fighters, on Monday afternoon.
On Sunday it was reported that the Iranian backed Hezbollah group had attacked Israeli infrastructure in the Sheba Farms area.
Hezbollah has fired mortar rounds from Lebanon into “Sheba Farms and Kfar Chouba areas hitting a military post.”
Israeli forces then responded by bombing “along the edges of the area” and the United Nations has confirmed on Sunday that the “exchange of fire was confirmed by both sides” including “UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.”
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The Israeli military said in a statement on Monday, “A report was received regarding the infiltration of a number of suspects into Israeli territory from Lebanese territory. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers are deployed in the area”.
The military added that helicopters “are currently striking in the area” and a “number of gunmen” were killed.
According to Israeli TV, Israeli soldiers killed the suspected “infiltrators” during an exchange in gun fire and N12 News said that three IDF were left “moderately injured.”
The southern borders of Lebanon are controlled by Hezbollah that joins Israels northern border, however the Iranian back militia group has denied being involved in the skirmish.
On Sunday, Hezbollah said in a statement, “On the path to liberate the remaining part of our occupied Lebanese land and in solidarity with the victorious Palestinian resistance and the steadfast Palestinian people, the groups of the martyr commander Hajj Imad Moghniyeh in the Islamic Resistance carried out an attack this Sunday, October 08, 2023, targeting three Zionist occupation sites in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms region.”
Lebanese MP Najat Aoun Saliba has told Al Jazeera on Sunday that “supporting the Palestinian cause should be a concerted effort between all Arab states.”
She said, “aim and focus” must be on the rights of Palestinians to live in peace, but with Hezbollah escalating the situation with Israel is seriously risking another war.
Saliba said Lebanon should not be the only Arab country who decides on war or peace, she added, “This is not something that Hezbollah should [shoulder] alone.
“It is a decision that has to be taken by all Arab states together.”
