As Operation Northern Shield continues, IDF soldiers on Saturday opened fire at three suspected Hezbollah members who had approached under the cover of the stormy weather the area of technological work to discover terror tunnels. The IDF Spokesperson announced that the three had escaped and the work continued as usual.
The Lebanese have claimed that the IDF crossed the Blue Line on the border on Friday, a claim denied by both the IDF and UNIFIL.
The Lebanese official news agency NNA reported on Saturday that “Israeli enemy soldiers fired shots in the air after they were deployed near the Blue Line in the area of Kroom Al-Sharaki east of Mays al-Jabal.” NNA denied the men on the Lebanese side were not Hezbollah but soldiers: “The shooting took place because of the heavy fog in the area and the surprise of the Israeli enemy at detecting a Lebanese army patrol in the Lebanese territory.”
NNA reported on Friday that “an infantry force of the Israeli enemy military, backed by six vehicles, crossed the technical fence on the outskirts of Mays al-Jabal in Bint Jbeil, and carried out works after infiltrating some 100 meters behind the Blue Line.” The force retreated at 5 PM, according to NNA.
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday quoted Israel and American officials who say Israel has warned Lebanon it would strike Hezbollah in south Lebanon if the terror group continues making precision-guided missiles with Iranian help.
Israel estimates Hezbollah has 130,000 missiles, but only a few hundreds of them have so far been upgraded with GPS equipment for accuracy in hitting specific targets inside the Jewish State. An Israeli military official told the WSJ: “We are sitting on an explosive barrel. There’s a lot of armaments on both sides. We haven’t got any intention or will to get into a confrontation with Lebanon. Our problem is Hezbollah.”