The Israel Defense Forces reported on Monday noon that an incident has taken place on the Israel-Lebanon border near Har Dov, also known as Shebaa Farms, which has been contested by Hezbollah since 2000.
The incident appears to have been triggered by a Hezbollah terrorist squad that had attempted to stage a cross-border attack. IDF troops managed to thwart the attack and fired at the squad.
According to the IDF, the group comprised about 5 members. They were fired upon after crossing the international border and they subsequently fled back into Lebanon.
The IDF confirmed that no Israeli troops or civilians were hurt in the incident. It was not immediately known if they were injured.
Residents in the area reported explosions and the IDF issued a mandatory order to residents of the north to "shelter-in-place" to avoid casualties. That order was later lifted about an hour later, after the incident ended.
According to unconfirmed reports in the Arab media, the IDF managed to thwart an attack by a Hezbollah terrorist squad that had tried to breach the border and hit Israeli troops. The Hezbollah-affiliated TV outlet Al Mayadeen reported that the terrorist group fired an antitank missile on Israeli troops.
Following the reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short his political meetings.
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The incident comes amid heightened tension between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group and the Jewish state after a senior Hezbollah official was killed in a strike that has been attributed to Israel in Syria.
Israel has beefed up its troop presence along the borders with Lebanon and Syria in recent days an air raid on Damascus on Monday – believed to have been carried out by Israel – killed five foreign fighters, including a member of the Lebanese terrorist group.
Hezbollah warned Israel it might retaliate, but said that it would not give clues as to when and where. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that the "IDF is ready for any scenario" and warned that Lebanon would pay the price for any provocation by Hezbollah.
Video: Arab Media, אנשי הדממה
It was unclear whether the incident on Monday was part of that response and whether it was perpetrated by Hezbollah, but according to Arab media outlets citing Hezbollah sources, this was indeed the retaliation.
"We are not seeking an unnecessary escalation, but if we are tested – we have high operative capacity, which I hope we will not need to put to use," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Sunday, a day after foreign media reported that Israel sent a clear message to Hezbollah that it would not let things escalate and that the killing of the senior commander was unintentional.
Shortly after Gantz visited troops in the north, the IDF said in a statement that one of its drones crashed in southern Lebanon "during operational activities" along the border.
