Late on Monday afternoon, plumes of smoke rose near Har Dov, and residents of Israeli communities all along the borders from the Mediterranean to the Hermon were ordered to remain at home.The long-awaited Hezbollah response was unfolding.Or was it?According to the Israeli military, the IDF thwarted a Hezbollah terror attack by a cell of three to five Hezbollah operatives after they crossed the Blue Line, several meters into sovereign Israeli territory, and were identified by the IDF, which opened fire on them.
The cell fled back into Lebanon without firing at IDF troops, and both sides claim there were no injuries.While the IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman said civilians could return to their normal routine, the military remains on high alert for future attacks.If this was Hezbollah’s retaliation for the death of one of their operatives in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria, why hasn’t the IDF also returned to “normal?” Why are military vehicles still not allowed to travel on roads adjacent to the border, and why haven’t troops returned to their posts?Is it possible that this was just Hezbollah testing the IDF?The narrative pushed by the Hezbollah affiliated Al Mayadeen news channel is that Israel made up the whole incident. That troops are so on edge about an attack by the Lebanese terror army that they fired at what they thought were infiltrators – but in reality were just empty fields.That’s a nice version if the group does not want an escalation with the Israeli military.But if what the IDF says is correct, that a cell of Hezbollah operatives tried to attack troops on Har Dov – an area where due to terrain there is no fence separating Israel and Lebanon – then maybe the group is trying to cover up a massive operational failure.Let’s lay the cards on the table for a minute. Hezbollah lost an operative in an alleged Israeli airstrike and has vowed to avenge the death of any member killed by “Zionist aggression,” and has done so in the past – most notoriously last September when the group fired three anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) toward IDF targets in northern Israel near the community of Avivim in retaliation for the killing of two operatives in Syria.The IDF was preparing for a repeat of such a scenario this time. But inside of firing ATGMs, Hezbollah reportedly sent a cell to infiltrate into Israeli territory.Who sends a cell to climb into Israeli territory during a heat wave unless it expects it to carry out a deadly attack?
And Har Dov, as mentioned earlier, is a tense playground for Hezbollah and the IDF.Just yesterday, UNIFIL troops shot in the air after shepherds refused to stop their truck as requested. The incident, which allegedly occurred near the Lebanese village of al-Wazzani near the contested Sheeba Farms, was caught on camera.In May, a Syrian shepherd identified as Mohammed Noureddine Abdul Azim, was shot by IDF forces after he infiltrated into Israeli territory near Mount Dov. Azim was flown to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, where he was treated for multiple gunshot wounds before being repatriated to Lebanon.Just days before the May incident on Mount Dov, a senior IDF officer stationed in the area told The Jerusalem Post that many shepherds in the area are known to collect intelligence on troop movement.Now, Hezbollah denied that there was a clash on the border on Monday and released a statement saying that the retaliation for Syria was yet to come, and now retaliation for the homes in Lebanon that were damaged by IDF shells.In Israel, while the IDF said they successfully thwarted the attack, the military and defense establishment are still on alert.
Hezbollah is saying one thing, the IDF the other. But the IDF must have the footage of the infiltrators crossing into Israeli territory.
Release it, so this tension can be released as well.
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