Israel
IDF responds to incursion on Israel's northern border with Lebanon as gunfire and explosions heard
Gunfire and explosions can be heard near the southern Lebanon village of Dhayra
October 9, 2023 12:54
Gunfire and explosions can be heard near the southern Lebanon village of Dhayra
October 9, 2023 12:54IDF soldiers have killed at least two terrorists who crossed the border into Israel from Lebanon.
Gunfire and explosions were reported near Israel’s northern border at 12:30pm today. A correspondent for Lebanon’s Hezbollah-linked Al-Manar TV released a video from the southern Lebanese village of Dhayra.
In the clip, explosions and gunfire can be heard and smoke can be seen.
An IDF security source said a group of men approached the border, with one firing at an Israeli observation post.
In a statement, the IDF said its soldiers "killed a number of armed suspects that infiltrated into Israeli territory from Lebanese territory". It did not elaborate on the number.
.timesofisrael.com%2F%3Fpost_type%3Dliveblog_entryp%3D3117293قصف مدفعي واشتباك بالرصاص عند حدود بلدة الضهيرة في القطاع الغربي من الجنوب pic.twitter.com/7au8FLb1hv
— علي شعيب || Ali Shoeib 🇱🇧 (@alishoeib1970) October 9, 2023
Military helicopters "are currently striking in the area", the statement added.
Israel's Army Radio gave the location as being near Adamit, across from the Lebanese border towns of Aalma El Chaeb and Zahajra.
A Hezbollah official said the group had not mounted any operation into Israel. Officials from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad also denied involvement.
Meanwhile, residents in northern Israeli towns are being ordered into bomb shelters in anticipation of rocket attacks.
On Sunday, IDF artillery hit targets in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah terrorists there fired mortars at the Jewish state. The military confirmed that there were no casualties in the Hezbollah attack.
The enemy shells hit in the contested Mount Dov region close to the Blue Line, which demarcates the 120-kilometer (75-mile) border and was created in 2000 by UN cartographers to verify Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for Sunday’s fire, saying it targeted three Israeli military sites in solidarity with the “Palestinian resistance.”
It comes just hours after Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant ordered a "complete siege" of the Gaza Strip as the IDF prepares for a major offensive in response to Hamas's deadly surprise terrorist attack on October 7.