Hezbollah reported detonating a large IED in the Shebaa Farms, along the border between Israel, Lebanon, and Syria today, targeting an Israeli patrol. There were no reports of casualties, though Hezbollah claimed to have destroyed an Israeli Humvee with the attack.
Hezbollah termed the attack retaliatory for last month’s Israeli killing of Samir Kantar in an airstrike in Syria. The Israeli government responded with artillery shelling of southern Lebanon, with at least 10 shells hitting al-Wazzani.
There were similarly no reports of injuries in southern Lebanon, and the UN observation force is hoping to keep it that way, urging both sides to exercise restraint and avoid any precipitous escalation of the fighting.
Israel had been firing artillery into southern Lebanon for days before today’s bombing, expecting Hezbollah action. Israel promised “swift retaliation” for anything Hezbollah did, though since they were attacking southern Lebanon at any rate, the risk appears to have been low for Hezbollah to launch a strike now.
