The Israel Defense Forces confirmed to JNS on Tuesday morning that a Lebanese individual wounded by Israeli forces after approaching the border on Monday had been evacuated to a hospital in Israel.
On Monday evening, the Lebanese Armed Forces tweeted that a Lebanese soldier in civilian clothing had been shot in Southern Lebanon and evacuated to a hospital across the border.
“After contact was lost with one of the army soldiers, and as a result of follow-up and verification, it became clear that elements of the hostile Israeli forces had shot him while he was in civilian clothes in the outskirts of the town of Kfar Shuba on the southern border, which resulted in his injury, and then he was transferred into the Palestinian territories,” the LAF tweeted in Arabic.
The Israeli military did not confirm that the individual was a member of the LAF, or where it occurred, saying only that Israeli forces had acted according to “standard operating procedures.”
The situation in Southern Lebanon remains volatile following the end of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire on Feb. 18. The truce, which went into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, ended more than a year of war, after Hezbollah began launching attacks on Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, day after Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel.
The IDF confirmed last month that its forces would remain in five outposts in Southern Lebanon beyond the ceasefire deadline. The decision was made in conjunction with the U.S. administration.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem declared on Sunday that the Iranian proxy will not tolerate any Israeli military presence in Southern Lebanon.
“I say to the Israelis—if you stay in these positions, how long do you think it will last? The resistance [Hezbollah] will not allow you to remain there,” he said. “If the occupation persists, the army, the people and the resistance will confront it. We have no ties to any agreement between the U.S. and Israel.”
On Saturday, the Israeli Air Force attacked a Hezbollah operative who according to the IDF was engaged in terrorist activities in Southern Lebanon. The day before, the IAF carried out intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah terror assets in Southern Lebanon.
The targets included rocket launchers and weapons storage facilities that “posed a threat to the State of Israel and constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said.
The military “will prevent any attempt by Hezbollah to reestablish and rebuild itself,” the statement added.
