Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that its troops killed four fighters who infiltrated into Israeli territory from Lebanon early on January 14.
In a statement, the IDF said that the cell was spotted by troops carrying out a patrol in the Mount Dov region -the Israeli name for the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms- on the border.
The four fighters were thought to have managed to cross the border initially undetected due to heavy fog covering the mountain. There is no border fence in the Israeli-occupied region, which houses several military sites of the IDF but no settlements.
Israeli troops heard gunfire near them during their patrol and engaged the fighters, the IDF said, adding that artillery and mortars were launched to assist the troops during the fire exchange.
The IDF did not report any casualties in the incident. Nevertheless, Hebrew media said that four Israeli troops were wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The Hamas Movement and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad both launched raids from southern Lebanon after the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has been also launching attacks against the IDF using rockets, guided missiles and drones since then.
So far, the clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli have resulted in four civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of nine IDF soldiers. On the Lebanese side, more than 180 have been killed. The toll includes 150 Hezbollah fighters, 14 of whom were killed in Syria, 25 Palestinians, a Lebanese soldier, and at least 24 civilians.
