Calm has once again returned to the southern Lebanese border with Israel after tension with Hezbollah over the past hours, which Israel traced to a sabotage operation that the group had attempted.
Israel on Monday reported a “security incident” on the Lebanese border leading to an exchange of fire. Explosions and gunfire were reported in the Shebaa Farms border area of the Israeli-Lebanese border, after suspected clashes between with Hezbollah forces.
The Israeli military said it was engaged in “ongoing combat” at the border areas, enforcing a lockdown for civilians.
Hours after the incident, the Lebanese army said that it was following the attack on a house in the Habariya area, where shells had fallen due to the security tension that occurred in the area.
In its statement, the army said that it was approximately 16:05 on Monday when a shell fired by the Israeli artillery fell on the house of Mohsen Abu Alwan in the town of Al-Habariya without exploding and the damage was limited, while the army units gets deployed in the area to dismantle and remove the damage.
On his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had considered that the Lebanese Hezbollah group "is playing with fire."
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz hold discussions after IDF thwarts Hezbollah terror cell infiltration along border with Lebanon[/caption]
Netanyahu said in a press conference: “Any attack will be met with great force. [Hezbollah leader Hasan] Nasrallah is greatly mistaken about Israel’s determination to defend itself, and Lebanon has paid a heavy price for this mistake.”
The Israeli-Lebanese border has been strained since the killing of a Hezbollah member, Ali Kamel Mohsen, in an Israeli raid that targeted a military site last week near Damascus International Airport.
On its part, UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti confirmed that "the head of the UNIFIL mission and its commander-in-chief, Major General Stefano Del Col, immediately contacted the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israeli army to contain the situation and establish a cessation of hostilities."
He said that calm has returned to the area, and UNIFIL maintains its presence on the ground, alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces. He added that UNIFIL has opened an investigation to uncover the facts and determine the circumstances of the incident.
Hezbollah denied its relationship with the operation, indicating that it had not participated in any clashes and vowed at the same time to respond to the killing of its leader in Syria in an Israeli raid last week, while Lebanese calls were issued for clarification of the statement.
This tension came days after a mobilization on the border, where Hezbollah was expected to carry out an operation in response to the killing of its leader in Syria. Observers believe that Hezbollah's response will be limited due to its inability to bear the repercussions of any war it might carry out inside Lebanon.
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