Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have been involved in a series of low-level clashes since the conflict erupted between Israel and Hamas. Ten Hezbollah fighters have been killed so far.
A border area between Israel and Lebanon. Photo: AP
An anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit the northern Israeli town of Metula on October 17, injuring three people, according to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed. Hours later, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate the area near the border with Lebanon.
Israel responded by attacking several areas along the border in southern Lebanon with artillery fire. The Israeli military said its tanks returned fire into Lebanon after an anti-tank missile was launched across the border.
The Israeli military said two more anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon into Yiftah in northern Israel without causing casualties, adding that it shelled Hezbollah positions in response.
An Israeli military spokesman said air defenses also intercepted a drone approaching the border from Lebanon.
Israel sees the heavily armed Lebanese group as a greater threat than Hamas. So far, artillery fire between Hezbollah and Israel has been limited to a few towns along the border. Israel has threatened that if Hezbollah opens a new front, all of Lebanon will suffer.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006. Since then, Hezbollah's military capabilities have grown significantly and it has become a key military actor in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
The international community has been scrambling to prevent the fighting from spreading to the region. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakkan Fidan said after meeting his Lebanese counterpart in Beirut on Tuesday that the Israel-Hamas conflict “could lead to bigger wars.”
Quoc Thien (according to AP)
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