The Israel Defense Forces have confirmed the attack, saying an explosive device struck Israeli military vehicles. The Shiite militant group said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of a militant leader.
The Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah said on Monday that it had carried out an attack on an Israeli military border patrol in the disputed Shebaa Farms area along the Lebanon-Israel border.
The attack “destroyed the armored Hummer vehicle and injured those in it,” said a statement from the group.
Hezbollah added that the attack was carried out in retaliation for the killing of former Israeli prisoner and militant leader Samir Kantar, who died in an airstrike in Syria in December.
The group that carried out Monday’s attack was named after Kantar.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed in December to avenge for Kantar’s death, blaming Israel for staging the attack. However, Israel never claimed responsiblity for the airstrike.
On Monday, an Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) spokesperson confirmed that their vehicles were targeted in an attack, but did not comment on the potential casualties claimed by Hezbollah.
“IED [improvised explosive device] detonated against IDF vehicles in the area of Mt. Dov,” said IDF spokesman Peter Lerner in a tweet, referring to the disputed Shebaa Farms area.
Kantar, who was once the longest serving Lebanese prisoner in Israel, was released in 2008 in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in cross-border raids.
Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a 34-day conflict in 2006, which resulted in hundreds of combatants and civilians being killed on both sides.
ls/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)
