Israeli Soldier Shot and Killed Along Lebanese Border
Image by getty images
An Israeli soldier was killed on Sunday when a Lebanese sniper opened fire in a normally quiet area of the border between the two countries, and a U.N. peacekeeping force said it was working with both sides to keep the incident from escalating.
Israel’s military said in a statement that a sniper from the Lebanese Armed Forces had shot at an Israeli vehicle driving near the Rosh Hanikra border crossing.
Israel has lodged a complaint with the U.N. force in southern Lebanon and had heightened its state of preparedness along the border, spokesman Peter Lerner said.
“We will not tolerate aggression against the State of Israel, and maintain the right to exercise self defense against perpetrators of attacks against Israel and its civilians,” he said.
Lebanese sources said they had lost contact with the Lebanese soldier after the shooting, which took place at the western tip of the border region across which Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia fought a 34-day war in 2006.
The U.N. force, UNIFIL, said they had been informed about “a serious incident” at the border.
“We are now trying to determine the facts of what happened and the situation is ongoing,” spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. “UNIFIL’s force commander is in contact with counterparts in the Lebanese and Israeli army, urging restraint.”
Tenenti said both sides were cooperating with UNIFIL after the incident, which he said appeared to have happened on the Israeli side of the Blue Line dividing Lebanese and Israeli forces.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
