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Israel strikes Lebanon after Hezbollah targets military post in Shebaa Farms

The group attacked 3 posts, including a 'radar site' in the land occupied by Israel since 1967 that Lebanon has claimed as its own

Published: Sun 8 Oct 2023, 9:59 AM

Updated: Tue 10 Oct 2023, 12:46 PM

  • By
  • Reuters

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Smoke rises from the Israeli-occupied Shebaa farms area as seen from Lebanese village of Rashaya al-Foukhar, in southern Lebanon, October 8, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Smoke rises from the Israeli-occupied Shebaa farms area as seen from Lebanese village of Rashaya al-Foukhar, in southern Lebanon, October 8, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Israel fired barrages of artillery into southern Lebanon on Sunday after Hezbollah targeted three Israeli military positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. The cross-border fire comes a day after a surprise attack by Palestinian gunmen on Israeli towns left at least 250 Israelis dead, with another 230 Gazans killed in Israel's retaliatory bombardment.

Hezbollah, a powerful armed party, said it had launched guided rockets and artillery onto three posts in the Shebaa Farms "in solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

The Israeli military said Sunday it fired artillery into an area of Lebanon where cross-border mortar fire was launched. "IDF (Israel Defense Forces) artillery is currently striking the area in Lebanon from where a shooting was carried out," it said.

Israel's military said one its drones struck a Hezbollah post in the area of Har Dov, an area in Shebaa.

Israel has held the Shebaa Farms, a 15-square-mile (39-square-km) patch of land, since 1967. Both Syria and Lebanon claim the Shebaa Farms are Lebanese.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Saturday, it said it had enhanced its presence in southern Lebanon following developments in Israel and Gaza, including its operations to counter rocket launches.

Hezbollah, which effectively controls southern Lebanon, said Saturday it was in "direct contact" with leaders of Palestinian "resistance" groups and that it saw Palestinian attacks on Israel as a "decisive response to Israel's continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalisation with Israel".

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon in southern Israel October 8, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon in southern Israel October 8, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Israeli forces clashed with gunmen from the Palestinian group Hamas on Sunday, 24 hours after the militants launched a surprise attack on Israel in which about 500 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence in Israel for 50 years.

The incursion from Gaza into southern Israel, the biggest in decades, could undermine U.S-backed efforts to forge regional security alignments that could threaten Palestinian aspirations for statehood and the ambitions of the group's main backer, Iran.

Hamas fighters began their attack at dawn on Saturday with a huge barrage of rockets into southern Israel, giving cover to an unprecedented, multi-pronged infiltration of fighters into Israel from Gaza, a narrow strip that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.

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