Lebanese army confront Israeli troops on border

Lebanese army confront Israeli troops on border
Israeli soldiers have rolled out barbed wire a few metres on the Lebanese side of the border.
2 min read
17 December, 2018
The Israel-Lebanon border has been a source of tensions [AFP]

Lebanon's military is on high alert after Israeli troops rolled out barbed wire along the border region, which has been a source of tensions this week after the discovery of a series of Hizballah tunnels into Israeli territory.

The incident between the Israeli and Lebanese troops occurred on the edge of the southern village of Mays al-Jabal, when Israeli troops installed 200-metres (yards) of wire, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. 

A video shows Lebanese troops protesting to UN peacekeepers that the wire was placed by Israel on their side of the border.

During the tense stand-off, they troops demanded the wire be pushed back several meters behind the blue line demarcating the frontier between the two countries, which are technically still at war.

Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, said that after reports of a "standoff" between Lebanese and Israeli troops along the blue line.

"UNIFIL troops were deployed in the area to defuse the situation, prevent misunderstandings and maintain stability," he said.

"The situation in the area is now calm and our troops are on the ground," Tenenti said.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Monday received the head of UNIFIL, Gen. Stefano Del Col, according to a statement released by the premier's office, where they discussed the "latest developments in the south as well as the tasks carried out by UNIFIL".

Israel complained after troops uncovered four Hizballah tunnels dug from Lebanon.

The militant Hizballah group, which used such tunnels inside Lebanon in the 2006 war, has yet to comment on the operation.

The Israeli military said Sunday that it has placed explosives in the tunnel.