IDF remains on alert as tense calm takes hold of northern borders

Senior IDF officials don't believe long-term exchange of blows will come to an end, irrespective of short-term lulls in violence.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
IDF soldiers near the Israel-Lebanon border (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF soldiers near the Israel-Lebanon border
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The IDF remained on alert and maintained a high presence across the North early Friday as a tense calm took hold following Wednesday's lethal Hezbollah missile strike that killed two soldiers.
Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon on Wednesday attacked IDF vehicles traveling two kilometers from the northern border in the village of Ghajar in the Galilee panhandle with Kornet anti-tank missiles, killing two IDF soldiers and wounding seven others.
According to the IDF's long-term assessments, the IDF and Hezbollah are likely to continue trading blows due to the terrorist organization's activities in both Lebanon and Syria. In the latter region, Hezbollah's attempt to set up an Iranian-backed terrorism base triggered an air strike last week, which set off the latest round of violence.
Senior IDF officials do not believe that the long-term exchange of blows will come to an end, irrespective of short-term lulls in violence.
The IDF briefly shut roads near the Lebanese border on Thursday night after residents reported hearing a blast. The roads were reopened soon afterwards.
Earlier, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon told Army Radio that Israel received a message from Hezbollah via UNIFIL saying that it was interested in an end to the current round of hostilities.
"There are coordination channels between us and Lebanon through UNIFIL, and I can say that those channels have been used," Ya'alon said. He refrained from saying that the violence had ended, however, saying the military was "ready for all developments."