Hezbollah has launched anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon at an Israeli army base in the Galilee region in the most serious clash between the two for four years.
The Israeli military returned fire at the source of the strike in Southern Lebanon on Sunday following the attack which did not cause any causalities.
In a statement the IDF confirmed that a vehicle and a military instillation were hit – but rejected Hezbollah claims that Israeli soldiers had been killed and wounded in the attack.
Later it emerged that the Israeli military had staged a scene in which apparently bandaged soldiers were evacuated to a hospital.
The IDF appeared to have called in a helicopter to the scene, and two soldiers were filmed being carried out on a stretcher.
But reports from Israeli later claimed the scene had been staged in order to mislead Hezbollah and give the group the impression that it succeeded in getting the reaction it wanted.
The IDF spokesperson said that at around 5PM on Sunday "A number of anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanese territory at an Israeli army base and a military vehicle in the Avivim area."
The statement added: ”The IDF will continue to keep a high threat level - both defensive and offensive - for a wide variety of scenarios.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later confirmed that Israel had responded "with 100 shells, aerial fire and various measures" into Lebanese territory.
He said: "We have no casualties - not even a scratch."
"I have given instructions to be prepared for any scenario, and we will decide on what's next depending on how things develop," Mr Netanyahu added.
UNFIL, the United Nations' peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon called on Israel and Hezbollah to exercise restraint.
Hezbollah sources told Qatari channel Al Jazeera the Lebanese movement was not seeking escalation. On Sunday evening, Israeli military sources said they also believed tensions were coming to a halt.
On August 24, the Israel Air Force attacked a cell of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards south of Damascus, killing two operatives. The IDF said they had been planning to send drones to Golan Heights.
On the same day a Hezbollah missile manufacturing plant was blown up in Beirut.
