Lebanese Hezbollah fighters launched attacks against Israeli troops stationed in areas near the border on Sunday and on a nearby village. Israel retaliated with attacks on Lebanon as UN peacekeepers warned that border clashes were escalating.
Sporadic exchanges of fire along Israel’s border with Lebanon over the past week have raised concerns that fighting with Hamas militants in Gaza could escalate into a wider conflict.
The Hezbollah attack in Shtula, a farming community near the border line, killed one person and wounded three others, the militant group and Israeli medics said.
The second week of cross-border tensions is the highest moment of escalation since 2006. Hezbollah announced that it had fired rockets at military barracks in Israel’s Hanita and caused casualties among “enemy ranks.”
The Israeli military said it had carried out attacks in Lebanon in retaliation and that it has banned public access to a 4-kilometer perimeter of the Lebanese border. Three security sources confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Israeli artillery had hit several areas in the south.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said it had fired 20 rockets from Lebanon at two Israeli settlements.
The United Nations peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, said its headquarters in southern Lebanon had been hit by a rocket, but there were no injuries. UNIFIL said it was working to identify the perpetrator.
“We continue to actively talk with the authorities on both sides… but unfortunately, despite our efforts, the military escalation continues,” it said in a statement.
Israel’s defense minister said Sunday that Israel has no interest in waging war on its northern front and that if Hezbollah holds back, then Israel will keep the situation along the border unchanged.
“We have no interest in a war in the north. We don’t want to escalate the situation,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters. “If Hezbollah chooses the path of war, it will pay a very heavy price. But if it is contained, we will respect that and keep the situation as it is,” said Mr. Gallant.
Hezbollah has said it is ready to fight Israel and will not be swayed by calls from Arab states and foreign powers to stand aside.
Sources say Hezbollah has made limited moves, preventing a major spread into Lebanon and keeping Israeli forces engaged.