BEIRUT (AP) – Clashes erupted along the Lebanon-Israel border that left five Hezbollah fighters dead, marking the largest number of casualties for the militant group in a single day as tensions with Israel escalate.
Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest war in Gaza between the Israeli military and the Hamas group. Hezbollah has announced the death of 10 militants since skirmishes began.
Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi threatened that Israel would retaliate aggressively should Hezbollah escalate.
The escalation comes amid fears that the war could spread into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has expressed strong support to Hamas.
So far, artillery exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel have been limited to several towns along the border.
Israel has threatened that if Hezbollah opens a new front, all of Lebanon will suffer the consequences.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a draw.
Since then, apart from limited clashes and escalated rhetoric, Hezbollah’s military calibre has significantly increased, and became a key military actor in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere in the region.
The international community has scrambled to keep the war from extending into Lebanon, and possibly the rest of the region.
