Clashes broke out Saturday afternoon between the IDF and the Lebanese army near the northern border after a heavy-duty vehicle illegally crossed into Israel.
Armed forces fired “protest dispersion” tools such as stun grenades at a tractor that crossed from the border into Israel in the Mount Dov area after surveillance identified the vehicle.
A statement released by the IDF stated that the tractor crossed the Blue Line from Lebanon into the Mount Dov area by about two meters, leading to multiple grenades being fired from Lebanon toward where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon was stationed.
The current demarcation line between the two countries is known as the Blue Line, a frontier mapped by the United Nations that marks the line to which Israeli forces withdrew when they left south Lebanon in 2000.
The IDF returned fire and the vessel returned to Lebanese territory, Israeli media reported. According to the IDF, neither Lebanese soldiers nor Hezbollah fighters crossed over the border.
Lebanese army targets IDF troops
Later on Saturday, the Lebanese Armed Forces said it fired tear gas at Israeli forces following the launch of stun grenades at the heavy machinery.
“Elements of the Israeli enemy violated the withdrawal line and fired smoke bombs at a Lebanese army patrol that was accompanying a bulldozer removing an earthen berm erected by the Israeli enemy north of the withdrawal line, the Blue Line, in the Bastra area,” the Lebanese army said in a statement.
“The Lebanese patrol responded to the attack by firing tear bombs ... forcing them to withdraw to the occupied Palestinian territories,” Lebanon’s army added.
UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in the area, said there had been tension on Saturday.
“UNIFIL is in touch with the parties to decrease tensions and prevent a misunderstanding. At the moment we are on the ground, monitoring the situation and trying to bring calm back to the area,” spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said.On Thursday, IDF tanks unusually attacked two temporary structures in the Golan Heights, used by the Syrian army, that violated the 1974 separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria in the Ein Altaniya area.
“The IDF considers the Syrian regime responsible for everything that happens in its territory and will not allow attempts to violate the separation agreement,” the IDF said.
The move also follows a recorded incident of Hezbollah tents built inside Israeli territory by the Lebanese border, which the IDF decided not to destroy immediately. However, this time the army decided to act quickly and thwart a possible attack during what it considered a particularly tense time on its borders.
Reuters contributed to this report.