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Israeli Soldiers Wounded in Disputed Border Area
Three Israeli soldiers were wounded Sunday morning along the Israeli-Lebanese border where Israeli troops exchanged fire with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas after a roadside bomb attack against an Israeli patrol.
Officials of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the casualties but refused to clarify whether these soldiers were injured in the bomb blast or during fire exchange.
Two of the soldiers were wounded moderately and the other lightly, the officials said. They had been evacuated to nearby hospitals.
The roadside bomb exploded earlier Sunday when an Israeli patrol team was touring areas near the Shebaa Farms, a contention point between the two sides as Lebanese government repeatedly urged Israel to return the area to its sovereignty, while Israel claimed it occupied the farms from Syria and will only return it to Damascus.
After the bomb blew up, the IDF and Hezbollah militiamen exchanged heavy fire and Israeli helicopter gunships were called into action to shell Lebanese targets in the area.
In a reaction on Israel Radio, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak termed the situation in northern Israel, bordering south Lebanon, " extremely sensitive."
"An outbreak is possible at any moment, but the IDF will know how to respond intelligently and forcefully, without being drawn into adventures," Barak added.
The Israeli-Lebanese border had been relatively quiet after Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon and withdrew its force from there in May under the pressure of Hezbollah's war of attrition.
However, since the Israeli-Palestinian violence broke out nearly two months ago, Hezbollah had reactivated its efforts to obtain the Shebaa Farms.
Hezbollah spiritual leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah reportedly said on Saturday that fighting was the only way to regain the border area.
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