Anti-tank missile kills Israeli farmer near Lebanese border
An Israeli farmer was killed on Thursday when an anti-tank missile hit a vehicle in the Upper Galilee community of Mattat near the Lebanese border.
Israeli soldiers patrol the Lebanese border on April 26, 2021. Photo by the IDF Spokesperson
Paramedics pronounced dead a 54-year-old man “with no vital signs” after military medics evacuated him to a nearby intersection near Mattat, the Magen David Adom emergency medical service said.
The IDF responded by attacking Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon with helicopters gunships, tanks and artillery.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel Air Force fighter jets attacked a series of Hezbollah targets following several instances of rocket fire targeting the Jewish state.
Among the Hezbollah facilities bombed were rocket launch sites, observation posts and other terrorist infrastructure.
Earlier, several rockets were fired from Lebanese territory, to which the military responded by attacking the source of the fire.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told local leaders in northern Israel that Jerusalem plans to remove Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 stipulates that Hezbollah is not allowed to operate south of the Litani River, which is located some 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon frontier.
The U.N. resolution, which was passed after the 2006 Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah and ratified by both Beirut and Jerusalem, also calls for the Iran-backed group to be disarmed.
Hezbollah has been testing the waters in recent weeks, initiating a series of fire exchanges as the Jewish state fights Hamas terrorists to the south. Since Oct. 7, four Israeli civilians and six IDF soldiers have been killed in attacks near the northern border.
Some 126,000 residents of communities near the Gaza and Lebanon borders have been evacuated and are living in guest houses, hotels, or with family. Many were evacuated by the state but others opted to leave on their own. Overall, some 250,000 Israelis have been internally displaced by the war.
The approximately 80,000 Israelis who live up to nine kilometres from the northern border will not be asked to return home “until security is established” and Hezbollah is pushed back to the north of the Litani River, Gallant said on Wednesday.
The IDF on Wednesday attacked various targets in Southern Lebanon in response to ongoing cross-border attacks by Hezbollah terrorists.
The strikes came in response to mortar shells fired from Lebanon towards military outposts in the areas of Mount Hermon and Arab al-Aramshe, according to the IDF.
In a press conference held in southern Israel on Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the military was exacting a “heavy price” from Hezbollah, “which the group tries to hide.”
TPS
