The family of a 21-year-old man who the Lebanese authorities say was killed by Israeli fire when he and a group of others tried to cross the border fence with Israel held his funeral on Saturday, a day after he died.The IDF identified a group of protesters who left objects near the border that they suspected were explosive devices. Three suspects cut the border fence and crossed into Israel where they were joined by another four suspects; they then started a fire inside Israeli territory, which spread to Lebanese territory.“The behavior of the suspects indicated that they were planning to commit a terror attack in Metulla,” the military said in a statement.During the event, the IDF shot one suspect identified by Hezbollah’s news outlet Al-Manar as Mohammad Tahhan in the leg. He was identified by the IDF as a Hezbollah member.The incident took place during a protest on the Lebanese side to support Palestinians, amid a conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group which rules Gaza.And the event came a day after three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, landing in the sea off of the northern coast of Israel. Hezbollah distanced itself from the rocket fire; it is believed that a Palestinian group fired the rockets.Members of his family, dressed in black and wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, gathered around the coffin of Mohamed Tahan in his home town of Adloun, in southern Lebanon, to bid farewell, Reuters images showed.
A large poster at the mourning ceremony was emblazoned with his picture, alongside a symbol of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is a staunch opponent of Israel. The poster carried the words: "On the way to Al-Quds (Jerusalem)."
Protesters gathered again on Lebanon side of border with Israel on Saturday, waving Palestinian and Hezbollah flags.
The Lebanese army deployed in the area, setting up cordons to prevent protesters approaching a border wall that runs along that stretch of the boundary, although some protesters still managed move up close.UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon that monitors the boundary with Israel, said on Friday it had launched an immediate investigation into the incident.Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.
