Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon’s Hezbollah claimed Monday it had detonated “explosive devices” targeting Israeli soldiers who the group said had crossed into Lebanese territory.
Israel’s army said four soldiers were wounded overnight in an explosion “in the area of the northern border”, but without specifying on which side of the frontier.
One of the soldiers was “severely injured” it said.
It was the first time Hezbollah claimed such an attack in six months of near-daily cross-border clashes between the Iran-backed group and Israel since the Gaza war broke out.
Hezbollah fighters “planted explosive devices in the Tal Ismail area” inside Lebanon, detonating them after Israeli soldiers “crossed the border”, the group said in a statement.
The incident came as tensions have soared over Iran’s missile and drone attacks from late Saturday on Israel in retaliation for a deadly strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus.
The violence flaring between Israel and Hezbollah has largely been contained to the border area.
It has killed at least 364 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also including at least 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
In Israel, the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed since hostilities began.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes on both sides of the border.