Israeli fire wounded three members of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah Wednesday in an incident near the border with Israel, a security source in southern Lebanon said.
The incident comes amid tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border area, a Hezbollah stronghold that is the site of sporadic incidents and skirmishes.
“Three Hezbollah members were wounded by Israeli fire near the border,” the source told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Three other sources with knowledge of the incident also said Hezbollah members had been wounded. One said a sound grenade was fired and that three members were “lightly” wounded.
The Israeli army said in a statement that “several suspects approached the northern security fence with Lebanon and attempted to sabotage it.”
“Soldiers immediately spotted the suspects and used means to distance them,” the army said, adding that “the identity of the suspects is unknown.”
Wednesday’s incident comes less than a week after the Israeli army shelled southern Lebanon following an anti-tank missile launch from its northern neighbor. The missile exploded in the border area between the two foes.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating war in 2006 after the group captured two Israeli soldiers.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah is expected to give a previously scheduled televised speech later Wednesday to mark the 17th anniversary of the 2006 war.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel and operates in the south near the border.
The two countries remain technically at war.
Last week, Hezbollah denounced Israel for building a concrete wall around the town of Ghajar.
The so-called Blue Line cuts through Ghajar, formally placing its northern part in Lebanon and its southern part in the Israeli-occupied and annexed Golan Heights.
Considered a “terrorist” organization by many Western governments, Hezbollah is the only side not to have disarmed following Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, and it is also a powerful player in Lebanese politics.
