| 4 IDF soldiers wounded in blast along Lebanon border |
Four Israel Defense Forces soldiers wounded, two of them moderately, in an explosion along the Lebanese border overnight Wednesday • Lebanese newspapers report blast occurred when IDF troops crossed over the border into Lebanese territory.
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An IDF jeep near the Israel-Lebanon border. [Archive] |
Photo credit: Reuters
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Four Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded, two of them moderately, in an explosion along the Lebanese border overnight Wednesday, the IDF said in a statement later Wednesday morning.
The IDF did not say what the cause of the explosion was and would not elaborate on whether the incident was combat-related or a training accident. According to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency, a landmine explosion struck the soldiers’ patrol, which crossed into Lebanon’s southern border and advanced 150 meters inside the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh.
Israel Radio said the soldiers were part of an elite military unit, adding that large military forces were deployed to the area following the blast.
The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Nahariya for treatment. According to a Walla News report, three of the wounded soldiers were being operated on, while the fourth was admitted to the intensive care unit. Israel Radio quoted the hospital director as saying that all four soldiers arrived at the hospital conscious, and all had suffered shrapnel injuries.
The incident takes place seven years since the end of the Second Lebanon War, a period in which relative quiet has been maintained along the border.
„During an overnight operation adjacent to the northern border, an explosion occurred, injuring four IDF soldiers lightly to moderately. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for further treatment. This incident is being investigated,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.
„IDF soldiers protect us and our borders and this is what happened overnight. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured. We will continue in our mission,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday in response to the incident.
A Lebanese security source told Reuters that the incident may have taken place north of the border fence which separates Israeli and Lebanese forces, but on the Israeli side of a U.N.-designated „blue line” between the two countries.
He said the soldiers may have been wounded by a mine.
Another security source said the explosion was 150 meters (yards) south of the blue line.
Asked about the incident, Andrea Teneti, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, said he had „no information in relation to our mandate of operations”, and he described the situation as calm.
The An Nahar Lebanese newspaper reported that the blast occurred when IDF troops crossed over the border about 150 meters into Lebanese territory. Lebanese TV said the soldiers were hit by a landmine when they were inside Lebanese territory. Hezbollah-associated Almayadeen network reported that the four soldiers were wounded by an explosive device while they were six meters inside Lebanese territory over the Blue Line.
The Voice of Lebanon radio station reported Wednesday that residents of south Lebanon reported hearing the sounds of strong explosions early Wednesday morning near the Israeli border area of Nakura [Rosh Hanikra]. According to the radio report, shortly after the explosion, Israeli troops fired flares into the night sky. The Lebanese radio station said that units of the Lebanese Armed Forces were conducting joint patrols with UNIFIL in the area.
Israel is bolstering its forces along the Syrian and Lebanese borders, where it believes Hezbollah is preparing for the day when it could fight Israel again.
