The western sector and areas adjacent to the Blue Line are experiencing a state of tension and security vigilance, with UNIFIL forces halting their patrolling. The areas targeted by shelling yesterday are witnessing an evacuation of residents, including children and women. At least three Hezbollah fighters were killed in Israeli shelling on Lebanon yesterday, Monday. Israel reported that one of its officers was killed in a previous raid on the border, for which Palestinians in Lebanon claimed responsibility. Israeli media also reported today that two soldiers were killed on the Lebanon border yesterday in addition to the officer. The army later stated that Deputy Commander Lieutenant Colonel Aleem Abdullah was killed during the raid without providing further details. Aviv Kohavi, via X (formerly Twitter), stated that Abdullah was killed in a confrontation with militants who had crossed into the Western Galilee from Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah also confirmed that three of its members were killed in Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon yesterday, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants expanded to the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah and Israel fought a devastating month-long war in 2006 and have exchanged fire across the border intermittently since then, avoiding a large-scale conflict. Hezbollah and Israel exchanged artillery and rocket fire yesterday, Sunday. A prominent member of the party was killed in Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon following a cross-border raid by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, which has been fighting alongside Hamas since its surprise attack on Israel on Saturday.
The Israeli army stated that its soldiers, supported by helicopters, managed to kill at least two militants who crossed the border from Lebanon yesterday. A Hezbollah official previously denied the group's involvement in the attack. Some residents in southern Lebanon reported leaving their homes along the border with Israel amid ongoing heavy shelling near towns and villages. The National News Agency of Lebanon reported heavy traffic on main roads due to people fleeing the border area, and schools in the region will remain closed today, Tuesday. A series of incidents in recent months has escalated the likelihood of escalation along the Lebanese-Israeli border ahead of the latest days of fighting between Israel and Gaza.
The Israeli army stated in a statement that its forces "killed a number of militants who crossed toward Israeli territory from Lebanese territory," without specifying a number. The statement added that military helicopters "are currently conducting raids in the area." The Israeli army has also reinforced its northern borders with significant troop deployments. A security source in Lebanon, along with a source in the Lebanese border area, reported that a group of men approached the border and one of them opened fire on an Israeli observation point. Israeli army radio stated that the site is near Admitt, across from the Lebanese border towns of Alma al-Shaab and Al-Zahrani.
A spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon noted that its commander, Major General Arolido Lazaro, "is in contact with the relevant parties and urges them to exercise maximum restraint." The Lebanese army confirmed the shelling in border areas and urged people to be cautious in their movements. It stated: "Border areas in the south have been shelled by the Israeli enemy. Several mortar shells fell in the yard of a Lebanese army center in the outskirts of the town of Rmeish, causing minor injuries to an officer."
Jabi Hajj, a father of three who owns a house near the border, described the intense shelling nearby: "Our house is close to the border, so we will leave it and go down to the village. All my neighbors are doing the same." The French consulate in Lebanon advised its citizens to postpone any travel to southern Lebanon, while Britain also noted that the tension is high and the situation could escalate.
