The border between Lebanon and Israel at the village of Dhaira, in Southern Lebanon, on March 15, 2023. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
The Lebanese Army said on Saturday that it had fired tear gas at Israeli forces in response to attacks by smoke bombs fired by the Israelis in the Bastra area of southern Lebanon.
"Elements of the Israeli enemy violated the withdrawal line and fired smoke bombs at a Lebanese Army patrol that was accompanying a bulldozer removing an earthen berm erected by the Israeli enemy north of the withdrawal line, the Blue Line, in the Bastra area," the Lebanese Army said in a statement.
"The Lebanese patrol responded to the attack by firing tear bombs … forcing them to withdraw to the occupied Palestinian territories."
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) deployed to calm the situation, which has now "stabilized," force spokesman Andrea Tenenti confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour.
"We are present on the ground to initiate de-escalation," he added.
"When such tensions arise, we work on several levels to quickly de-escalate the situation. On the one hand, our units deploy on the ground and, on the other, we communicate bilaterally with the Lebanese Army and the Israeli army to calm the situation."
The Israeli army has so far made no statement on the incident.
This exchange of tear gas comes after several months of tension on Lebanon's southern border, particularly in the border village of Ghajar, the Lebanese side of which was de facto annexed by Israeli forces in July.
These tensions regularly erupt around 13 disputed points on the Blue Line, which has demarcated the border between the two countries since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. On Sept. 13, the Lebanese Army announced that a tripartite meeting had been held the previous day between Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL, during which the question of more clearly demarcating the land border was discussed, but without any agreement being reached.