The IDF arrested a suspect who seemingly attempted to cross the Lebanese border into Israel on Saturday evening, but returned him to Jordan after an interrogation. He had no weapon and had likely crossed the border by accident while drinking, Kan News reported on Sunday.
IDF soldiers were called to the area after sensors along the fence alerted them about suspicious movement. The spot along the fence was in the middle of Jurdih, a village that straddles the Israel-Lebanon border.
The suspect was caught within a matter of minutes and was interrogated on location.
Hezbollah-affiliated reporter Ali Shoeib reported that the infiltrator was a Lebanese man from the town of Dhayra, located north of Jurdih.Israel has been building an upgraded border security fence with Lebanon but due to financial restraints, it has only completed several kilometers of the concrete barrier along the Lebanese border.
The rest of the border is a fence that was originally built in the 1980s and though it provides the military with indications of breaches in the fence which allow troops to quickly get to the scene, there have been several infiltrations in recent months.
Lebanon is currently suffering from an economic crisis that the World Bank says is one of the world’s worst financial crises since the 1850s with violence and protests breaking out around the country as basic services collapse.
With the situation in Lebanon continuing to deteriorate, there have been a number of migrant workers infiltrating into Israel including in June when two Turkish men succeeded in crossing the border and were only caught 11 hours later.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.