The clash occurred on the Lebanon-Israel border, leaving IDF soldiers wounded and militants dead in a recent infiltration attempt.
In an overnight incident on Saturday, five Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers sustained injuries during a clash with an armed group that infiltrated Israel from Lebanon.
The confrontation unfolded as an IDF unit patrolled the Mount Dov region at the northern edge of the Golan Heights along the Lebanese border. The wounded soldiers were promptly taken to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, with three incurring light injuries and two in a good-to-moderate condition.
Four militants coming from Lebanon were killed in the exchange, during which the IDF deployed artillery and mortars in response. Preceding this event, Israeli Air Force fighter jets targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in Mis al Jabal and Kfar Yarin, with additional strikes hitting other locations. Hezbollah retaliated by launching projectiles towards Israel, striking an open area, prompting Israeli forces to retaliate against the source of the attacks.
Hezbollah, in support of Hamas, has been engaging in a persistent, low-intensity cross-border conflict with Israel since October 7. This has involved daily missile and drone attacks, met with corresponding Israeli responses.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi stated that Hezbollah is acting as a ‘Hamas shield’ in Iran’s mission, and Israel is imposing an escalating cost on the group. Halevi emphasized that the security situation in the north is evolving and warned against linking the northern friction to events in Gaza.
Halevi outlined ongoing efforts to keep Hezbollah’s Radwan Force away from the border, disrupt the group’s accumulated capabilities, and maintain the freedom to operate in Lebanon’s airspace.
He stressed that the South Lebanon region is considered a combat zone as long as Hezbollah operates from it and warned of potential consequences if the entire country of Lebanon becomes a combat zone.
Addressing the situation, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah asserted on Sunday that Israel has failed to achieve its goals in its operation against Hamas in Gaza. Nasrallah claimed that Israel was unable to destroy the resistance or the Hamas government, highlighting that areas evacuated in the north of the Gaza Strip are now under Hamas governance.
