Lebanon’s army responded to Israeli fire for the first time in nearly a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, following the death of a second Lebanese soldier on Thursday.
The Lebanese army stated that one of its soldiers was killed after Israeli forces targeted an army post in the Bint Jbeil area in southern Lebanon. Soldiers at the post returned fire in response. A military official, speaking anonymously, confirmed this was the first retaliatory fire since last October because the post had been “directly” hit.
This marks the third Lebanese soldier killed since tensions escalated between Hezbollah and Israel on September 23. Earlier in the day, another soldier was killed, and one wounded during an evacuation operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in Taybeh village, where four Red Cross volunteers were also injured.
Hezbollah claimed to have repelled three Israeli infiltration attempts into Lebanese territory, including near Taybeh, and used artillery to stop Israeli forces at Fatima’s Gate along the border wall. The group said it set off four explosive devices and fired rockets at Israeli positions in response to Israeli bombardments of Lebanese towns and villages.
Earlier in the week, a Lebanese soldier was killed in an Israeli strike on a checkpoint in Wazzani.
