(Dan Tri) – Lebanon’s Hezbollah force claimed responsibility for attacking an Israeli military position and Tel Aviv shelled in retaliation, amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza.
Smoke rises from the village of Halta in southern Lebanon, located near the Israeli border (Photo: Reuters).
Sputnik reported that on October 8, the Hezbollah Armed Forces claimed responsibility for the mortar fire at Israeli military facilities in southern Lebanon.
The statement read: `In solidarity with the Palestinian resistance (Hamas), a group of our soldiers this morning attacked three Jewish army positions near the Shebaa Farms area of Lebanon that Israel is controlling.`
Shebaa Farms is an area that Israel acquired in 1967 and Lebanon also claims sovereignty over this area.
Previously, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they had begun shelling areas in Lebanon in response to Hezbollah’s fire.
The IDF shelling took place this morning (local time), one day after Hamas and several other Palestinian groups launched a major attack on Israeli cities and bases.
The United Nations peacekeeping force on the Israel-Lebanon border, UNIFIL, said it detected a number of rockets fired from southeast Lebanon toward Israeli-controlled territory near Kafar Shuba, and other
`We call on all parties to exercise restraint and take advantage of UNIFIL’s communication and coordination mechanisms to reduce tensions to prevent the security situation from rapidly deteriorating,` the statement said.
UNFIL said it is contacting authorities on both sides of the `Blue Line` to avoid a serious escalation of the situation.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it was closely monitoring the situation and remained in `direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance`, saying the attacks were a decisive response by Hamas.
The Hezbollah Armed Forces is a Shi’a Muslim militia organization.
According to observers, Hezbollah has quite strong military potential, possessing many weapons and heavy equipment such as main battle tanks, armored vehicles, air defense systems, artillery and machine guns.
According to Reuters, Western political circles believe that Hezbollah is a force backed by Iran and that this group is the party that is in control of southern Lebanon.
In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah broke out in southern Lebanon.
Al Jazeera news agency warns that mutual attacks between Israel and Hezbollah could raise the risk of sparking conflicts and even wider escalation in the Middle East.
