The security situation on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel is fraught, following an Israeli military strike targeting a group of Hezbollah members who were said to have approached the border fence, resulting in three injuries.
This security development coincides with ongoing border tensions between Lebanon and Israel. International mediation efforts are underway to address this situation, which is characterized by structures built by the Israeli military in the northern part of the border town of Al Ghajar in southeastern Lebanon. These constructions suggest a potential annexation, mirroring two tents set up by Hezbollah in the Shebaa Farms area, which Lebanon considers occupied territory.
Lebanese media reported that Israeli soldiers stationed southwest of Al-Bustan town (in the Sour district) threw a bomb at a group of youths near the barbed-wire border fence. It later transpired that these individuals were Hezbollah members, three of whom suffered minor injuries and were subsequently transported to Hiram Hospital in Sour. According to local media reports, the attack took place opposite the Baraka Risha site in Al-Bustan, and the three injured youths were hit by bomb shrapnel thrown by the Israeli military from their position.
While Hezbollah has not issued a statement explaining the incident’s circumstances, the Israeli military released a video showing a group of five individuals approaching the barbed-wire fence before a bomb exploded, forcing everyone to retreat.
Avichai Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, announced that a group had approached the security fence on the border with Lebanon, throwing stones and starting a fire near the fence within Lebanese territory. This action prompted the Israeli military to fire into the air to disperse them, noting that the suspects’ identities remain “unknown”. Adraee added that the Israeli military would continue efforts to prevent damage to the border fence.
The Lebanese military and UNIFIL forces prohibited civilians from approaching the barbed-wire fence, amidst reports of intense Israeli drone surveillance over border regions in the south.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it is aware of “disturbing reports about an incident along the Blue Line” and urged all parties to avoid escalation due to the “extremely sensitive” situation. A Lebanese source familiar with the southern developments described the incident as an attack, reporting that several Hezbollah members were injured when Israeli forces launched “something resembling a hand grenade,” with shrapnel injuring three party members. Another source privy to the incident details indicated that Israel employed “preventive techniques” in response to repeated attempts to breach the border fence.
The source added that one such technique, a “non-lethal version of a mine-like sound bomb,” designed to stun with loud noise, was used.
The incident occurred on the 17th anniversary of the July 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and approximately 160 Israelis, most of whom were forces fighting Hezbollah inside Lebanon.
