IDF Troops Wounded Inside Lebanon

Latest Developments

An explosion wounded four Israeli soldiers within Lebanon on April 15, in what appeared to be the first acknowledged Israeli ground incursion against Hezbollah since hostilities erupted in October.

The special forces soldiers were operating a few hundred yards north of the border overnight when the blast, whose cause was not immediately clear, wounded them, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. One was in critical condition. All were safely evacuated.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility, saying it set off a landmine as the troops approached. But Israeli media said old leftover ordnance may have been to blame.

Expert Analysis

“This was presumably not the first covert ground operation by the Israelis, who have every reason to want to root out Hezbollah from the border. After all, the presence of the Iranian-backed terrorists within view of Israeli communities is what is liable to keep evacuated residents away from those communities.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Details remain scant regarding today’s incident in which four Israeli soldiers were wounded inside Lebanese territory. It is unclear what precisely these soldiers were doing across the border — but this might suggest the IDF is increasingly moving into a forward, aggressive posture in the face of Hezbollah’s ongoing attacks and provocations.” — David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow

“The IDF will, of course, exercise every caution, but it should be especially careful about the possibility of its soldiers being taken captive by Hezbollah. The absence of hostages in Lebanon has given the Israelis latitude in handling fighting with Hezbollah that they do not have with Hamas in Gaza.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

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“Israel Retaliates for Rocket Fire From Lebanon,” FDD Flash Brief