Israel thwarts infiltration bid from Lebanon, killing four: Army

JERUSALEM (AFP): Israeli troops killed four militants attempting to infiltrate from Lebanon, the army said Tuesday, as tensions run high along the border between the two countries.

“Observation troops spotted a terrorist squad attempting to infiltrate the security fence with Lebanon and plant an explosive device,” the army said in a statement.

“Four terrorists were killed,” it added.

Earlier the military said it had targeted Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group with overnight air strikes on southern Lebanon.

Since the start of the war triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hezbollah’s Palestinian ally Hamas on Israel on October 7, clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border have left more than 10 people dead on the Lebanese side.

Most of the dead have been combatants, but they also include a Reuters journalist and two civilians.

On the Israeli side, at least two people have been killed.

Lebanon’s state-owned National News Agency (NNA) reported that areas along the western section of the border came under “continuous” bombardment overnight.

Homes in the village of Dhayra were hit, resulting in casualties, NNA reported, without elaborating on how many villagers had been wounded or whether any had been killed.

“The enemy (Israel) used phosphorus bombs and targeted civilians,” the news agency said.

The Israeli army denied it had been using the incendiary weapon white phosphorus in either Gaza or south Lebanon, after Human Rights War accused it of doing so last week.

It did not immediately comment on Tuesday’s NNA report.

The international community fears the opening of a second front in the conflict, with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group joining Hamas in the fight against Israel.

Israel has begun evacuating thousands of residents from 28 locations in the north.