Israel-Lebanon Border Heats Up: Lebanon Fires At IDF

The IDF released an aerial photograph showing that IDF soldiers were standing in Israeli territory when they were fired upon, and did not cross the Lebanese border.
This information was confirmed by a UNIFIL representative.

The incident is marked in red, the border in blue.

Lebanese Army Kills Israeli in Border "Ambush"

An Israeli army spokeswoman told BBC that two Israeli officers had been attacked by "snipers from the Lebanese armed forces" in a "well-planned ambush" during maintenance operations on Israel's side of the border.

The head of Israel's Northern Command, Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, said the officers had been standing between 300 and 400 meters from the border, observing [other] Israeli soldiers removing bushes near the border fence, when "sniper fire was directed at their position." Lt.-Col. Dov Harari, 45, was killed and an Israeli captain was "critically wounded."

Israel responded with artillery and helicopter fire. The Lebanese army said three of its soldiers had been killed and four wounded.
(BBC News)

Presence of Cameramen, Journalists Proves It Was a Planned Ambush

Journalists and photographers were briefed in advance of the intention to ambush IDF troops and even broadcast trucks were present at the scene of Tuesday's deadly clash, IDF officials charge.

A correspondent for the Hizbullah-affiliated Beirut daily al-Akhbar was killed and another from Hizbullah's al-Manar television was wounded in the Israeli response.

"If this incident was not planned in advance, why did field commanders in the Lebanese army bother to dispatch journalists to the area and ensure that cameras were present at the site?" one IDF official said.
(Ynet News)


UNIFIL Confirms IDF Claims -Yaakov Katz

A UNIFIL official in southern Lebanon confirmed that the IDF informed the organization of its intention to conduct routine maintenance work in the area between Israel's border fence and the international border.

"I can confirm that we received notification from the IDF about the work and we passed the information on to the Lebanese Army," said the Hungarian diplomat who is part of the UNIFIL force.
(Jerusalem Post)


Lebanese Army Confirms It Fired First -Hanan Greenberg
(Ynet News)


Hizbullah Allies in Lebanon Army Seen Behind Attack -Amos Harel

In the last few months there has been increasing friction between the Lebanese army and the IDF over the entire length of the border, as the Lebanese forces - especially Division 9, most of whose commanders are Shiite Muslim - take an aggressive stance against Israel.

[T]he IDF Northern Command speculated that Hizbullah had a hand in the border conflict.

Hizbullah, which is expecting to receive arrest warrants for some of its leaders surrounding the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, may have used its allies within the Lebanese army to spark a confrontation.
(Ha'aretz)


Israel Blames U.S., France for Arming Lebanon -Barak Ravid & Shlomo Shamir

"Countries are providing the Lebanese army with advanced weaponry for it to fight Hizbullah, and instead the Lebanese army is using the weapons to fire on IDF soldiers," a senior Israeli official said, referring to the U.S. and France.

The U.S. has given Lebanon nearly $500 million since 2006 to purchase arms, despite Israel's objections. France has also sent a great deal of weaponry to Lebanon, including advanced anti-tank missiles.
(Ha'aretz)
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