On a tense Saturday along the disputed border, Lebanese and Israeli troops engaged in a tear gas exchange, with no reported injuries in the incident. The Lebanese army confirmed that its troops had fired tear gas at Israeli soldiers in a contested area, which remains a focal point of regional tension.
The incident unfolded as a bulldozer operated on the Lebanese side of the border, attempting to remove a sand barrier that had been previously placed by Israeli forces. In response, Israeli troops fired tear gas to halt the bulldozer’s progress. The Lebanese military retaliated by launching tear gas at the Israeli soldiers.
According to the Israeli military, soldiers observed an engineering vehicle’s shovel crossing the border from Lebanon into Israeli territory, specifically in the region known as Mount Dov, referred to as Chebaa Farms in Israel. In response to this border violation, Israeli soldiers employed “riot dispersal means,” ultimately leading to the vehicle’s return to Lebanese territory.
Despite relative calm along the Lebanon-Israel border since the conclusion of the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, tensions persist. In April, Israel conducted rare airstrikes in southern Lebanon after militants launched nearly three dozen rockets from Lebanese territory into Israel, resulting in injuries and property damage.
In July, Israeli forces shelled a southern Lebanese border village following reports of explosions in a disputed area where the borders of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel intersect. The location of this incident is in Chebaa Farms and the Kfar Chouba hills, territories that Israel seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. These areas are also considered part of Syria’s Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981. However, the Lebanese government asserts that the region rightfully belongs to Lebanon, contributing to ongoing tensions in the area.