Hezbollah claims attacks on Israeli soldiers near Lebanon border

By Wassim Saifuldine

BEIRUT (AA) - Hezbollah said Thursday it carried out five attacks on Israeli soldiers and military sites near the Lebanese border.

The Lebanese resistance group said in several statements that it destroyed a recently installed technical system at the Israeli military Ramieh site with “appropriate weaponry.”

It noted that it also targeted a group of soldiers at the Al-Jardah military point with a direct hit and inflicted casualties.

The group added that fighters targeted a gathering of soldiers around the Jal al-Alam military site with a heavy-caliber rocket.

Hezbollah also targeted a military command in the settlement of Kfar Giladi and its surroundings and inflicted casualties with kamikazes.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli army said it intercepted two drones launched from southern Lebanon toward the settlement of Shtula in the western Galilee region of northern Israel.

Hezbollah did not mention that it targeted the Shtula settlement in its statements.

The army also said it detected the launch of seven shells from Lebanon into the western Galilee region without recording any injuries.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned of a “hot summer” with Hezbollah on Wednesday amid heightened tensions along Israel’s border with Lebanon.

“We have very significant, very heavy firepower, and we will make sure to activate it if there is a need and a reason,” Gallant told troops in northern Israel.

Tensions have risen along Lebanon's border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with a deadly onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 34,900 victims since October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul