Beirut/Jerusalem, Jan 28 (IANS): An anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli military vehicle Wednesday in Mount Dov, along the Israeli-Lebanese border, injuring several Israeli soldiers. Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement, Hezbollah said "at 11.35 this morning, the Qoneitra martyrs squad of the Islamic Resistance targeted an Israeli army convoy composed of a number of vehicles and a number of Zionist officers and soldiers, with the appropriate missiles, which led to the destruction of many vehicles and the injury of many enemy soldiers", Xinhua news agency reported
According to television station MTV, six Israeli soldiers were injured during the attack and the Israeli army responded by shelling intensively the eastern sector of south Lebanon with at least 200 mortar shells.
MTV added that the Israeli air force is currently overflying the region and executing mock raids over the region.
Earlier, according to a report from Jerusalem, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli military vehicle Wednesday in Mount Dov in Shebaa Farms, along the Israeli-Lebanese border, injuring several Israeli soldiers.
The incident took place on a part of the Israeli-Lebanese border which does not have a security fence. The attack comes a day after rockets were launched from Syria at northern Israel's Golan Heights.
The IDF did not confirm the number of soldiers injured and their condition was initially unclear and not officially confirmed.
In response, the IDF fired artillery shells into Lebanon. The Lebanese paper the Daily Star quoted Lebanese security officials as saying that at least eight shells fired from Israel hit Lebanon. The Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack on the IDF vehicle.
Security forces instructed Israeli residents of northern Israeli villages near the border to stay in their homes and have blocked several roads. Military Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon both convened emergency assessment meetings following the incident.
After the anti-tank missile was fired, mortars were also fired at Israeli military forces at the scene, as well as a house in the northern Israeli village of Rajar. No injuries were reported from these attacks.
On Tuesday, two rockets were launched from Syria and landed in open territories in northern Israel's Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in the 1967 Mideast War. No injuries or damage was reported and the IDF retaliated with artillery fire into Syria, resulting in several injuries, according to Syrian media.
On Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that "those who play with fire will be hit by fire", alluding to the earlier rocket attacks.
He said Israel viewed the rocket attacks severely and will "know how to defend itself" against those who "challenge us within our borders".
Israeli security forces believe Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant group, orchestrated this attack along with Syrian forces of President Bashar al-Assad, in response to an alleged Israeli airstrike last week, which killed several Hezbollah and Iranian operatives, including a top Hezbollah commander and an Iranian general.
The IDF has been on high alert in the past week in northern Israel following the alleged airstrike and anticipating response, deploying more forces in the area. The Ha'aretz daily reported Tuesday the IDF installed concrete blocks along part of the Israeli-Lebanese border, to shield against shooting attacks.
Although not officially confirmed, it is believed Israel carried out several airstrikes against Syria, targeting weapons transfer from Iran to Hezbollah, due to the fighting spilling over from the Syrian civil war into northern Israel.