Lebanese group denies Israeli military claims and media reports that it staged raid around the border
A self-propelled howitzer near Moshav Sde Eliezer in northern Israel, by the border with Lebanon, 26 July 2020 (AFP)
MEE staff-27 July 2020
Israel rained shells down on south Lebanon on Monday after a reported Hezbollah attack that the Lebanese group has denied it carried out.
Multiple reports earlier said a Hezbollah guided anti-tank missile had been fired at a military vehicle in Shebaa Farms, while Israel's military said it thwarted an infiltation attempt by an armed squad that crossed the Lebanese border and exchanged fire with Israeli forces. No casualties were reported.
'Hezbollah should know that it is playing with fire'- Benjamin Netanyahu
Hezbollah said that Monday's incident was "one-sided" and that Israeli forces had "moved nervously on the ground" due to a heightened state of alert.
A Hezbollah operation of some sort had been predicted by Israel for days, after an Israeli air raid in Syria had killed one of the group's fighters last week. Israel had bolstered its military presence in the north in recent days.
In its statement on Monday, Hezbollah said its response to the killing of its fighter, Ali Kamel Mohsen, will "surely come".
Hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disputed Hezbollah's account, claiming it had attempted to infiltrate into Israel.
"Hezbollah should know that it is playing with fire," Netanyahu said at a press briefing, alongside Defence Minister Benny Gantz, at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
'Complicated event'
The Israeli military had said that there had been a "security incident" on Israel's northern border with Lebanon and ordered residents in the area to remain indoors, as it closed roads in the area.
Hezbollah-linked channel Al-Manar reported that Israel was attacking the hills of Kfarchouba and its western peripheries, as well as Shanouh Farm to its south.
In early comments on the border situation, Netanyahu said: "We are in the midst of a complicated event."
Lebanon claims Shebaa Farms as its own, while Israel says the territory is part of the Syrian Golan Heights, which it occupies.
A witness in Lebanon counted dozens of Israeli shells hitting the area, landing near an Israeli military position, according to Reuters.
After an hour of shelling, a reporter for Al-Manar tweeted that Israeli attacks on Kfarchouba and Shebaa Farms had stopped amid an intense presence of Israeli warplanes in the area. Around the same time, the Israeli military said it had lifted the order for Israelis living along the northern border to stay indoors.
After its attack in Syria last week, Israel later sent a message to Hezbollah saying it had unintentionally killed one of its fighters in the strike and that it was unaware of the group's presence in the target area, the Al-Mayadeen TV channel reported on Saturday night.
Israel also warned Hezbollah against retaliation.
"Lebanon and Hezbollah will bear the responsibility for any attack from Lebanese territory," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks, shortly before the reports of Monday's incident.
The Lebanese army said on Saturday that 20 Israeli surveillance drones had penetrated Lebanon’s airspace the day before, and they could be widely heard and seen from the ground, local sources told Middle East Eye.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said one of its drones had crashed in Lebanon.
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