Israeli Army Shells South Lebanon After Rare Rocket Attack (Video)

An Israeli artillery unit on the Gaza border during Operation Breaking Dawn, in an image published by the military on August 9, 2022. (Israel Defense Forces)

On July 6, a rocket launched from Lebanon’s South governorate, the heartland of Hezbollah, at the Israeli-occupied village of Ghajar.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was in response carrying out artillery strikes against the area where the rocket was launched. According to Lebanon’s Al-Manar TV, linked to Hezbollah, at least 15 artillery shells were fired at an open hill between the villages of Kfarchouba and Halta.

Initially, Reuters reported that two rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward Israel. Three Lebanese security officials told the news agency that one of them landed in Lebanese territory and the second fell near a disputed area close to the separation line with Israel.

The IDF first responded by saying it was aware of a blast near Ghajar, while Hebrew media assessed that the blast was caused by an old land mine on the border.

In a later statement, the IDF said that “a launch was carried out from Lebanese territory that exploded adjacent to the border in Israeli territory.”

“In response, the IDF is currently striking the area from which the launch was carried out in Lebanese territory,” the military said.

The incident came amid rising tensions on the border after Hezbollah set up two tents several dozen meters into the Shebaa Farms, which were occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War and later effectively annexed along with the Syrian Golan Heights. Lebanon says the area belongs to it.

In a statement released around the same time the rocket attack was reported, Hezbollah condemned what it called “dangerous measures” taken by the IDF in the northern part of Ghajar. Hezbollah accused Israel of erecting a wire fence and building a cement wall around the village.

“These dangerous measures and serious development are a complete occupation of the Lebanese part of the town of Ghajar by force and an imposition of a fait accompli in it,” the statement reads. “We call on the Lebanese state with all its institutions, especially the Lebanese government, and we also call on the Lebanese people, with all their political and civil forces, to take action to prevent the consolidation of this occupation, to cancel the aggressive measures that it took, and to work to liberate this part of our land and return it to the homeland.”

Last week, Hezbollah shot down an Israeli reconnaissance drone that was flying some seven kilometers into southern Lebanon.

The new rocket attack will increase tensions between the IDF and Hezbollah. However, it will not likely lead to a military confrontation, as both sides still recognize that a new full-blown war could lead to disastrous results.

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