Israeli troops fired warning shots and then live fire at four Hezbollah operatives riding a bulldozer and motorcycle who entered the security zone in southern Lebanon, the IDF said. The operatives ignored calls to stop and continued approaching forces; a hit was confirmed. The incident is the latest in a series of confrontations on the strategic ridge.
The IDF reported a second incident Tuesday afternoon on the Ali al-Taher ridge, in which troops fired on four Hezbollah operatives riding a bulldozer and motorcycle who crossed into the security zone using civilian cover. After warning shots and calls to stop were ignored, forces fired to remove the threat and confirmed a hit. The engagement occurred shortly after an earlier incident on the same ridge, first reported by the IDF at 16:34 Jerusalem time, in which troops also fired on Hezbollah operatives using civilian cover.
The Tuesday sequence follows a string of confrontations on the ridge since mid-June. On June 15 and June 19, the IDF reported Hezbollah anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli tanks near Nabatieh and Israeli airstrikes on approaching cells, as The Zioneer reported at the time. On June 20, Hezbollah publicly denied IDF claims that its fighters were surrounded on the ridge, calling the allegations 'baseless.' The IDF has consistently accused Hezbollah of using Lebanese civilians and infrastructure as shields for military activity.
No casualties have been reported in either Tuesday incident, and the IDF has not stated whether the operatives were killed or wounded.
15 developments
- ConfirmedIDF kills two Hezbollah operatives in Nabatieh area, eliminates gunmen on Ali Taher ridge
- ConfirmedIDF confirms second strike of the day in Nabatieh, hits Hezbollah operatives approaching troops
- DevelopingFor second time today, four Hezbollah operatives cross Yellow Line — IDF fires warning shots then strikes
- ConfirmedIDF kills two Hezbollah operatives in northern border incident
Source and signal
- Internal intake