Hizbollah missile attack on Israeli military convoy leaves three dead

Hizbollah attacked an Israeli military convoy in the north of the country on Wednesday morning, prompting Israel's military to strike targets in southern Lebanon and blame the militant group and its Syrian and Lebanese government allies for what it called a "grave escalation". The UN said one of its peacekeepers was killed during the exchange of fire.

The Israel Defence Forces said that an antitank missile hit a military convoy before noon on Thursday, killing two and wounding seven.

The strike took place in the Shebaa Farms region, which is occupied by Israel but claimed by Lebanon and has been a flashpoint between the two sides since their last conflict ended in 2006. Israel's Channel 10 TV station showed footage of at least two vehicles burning at the scene of the strike.

Hizbollah claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement dubbed "announcement number one". It said the operation was launched in response to Israel's attack in the Golan region of Syria earlier this month that killed six of its fighters and an Iranian general, and raised fears of a flare-up in fighting between Israel and the armed group.

In a second incident, a barrage of mortars were fired across the Shebaa Farms and Mount Hermon region at the Lebanese border, Israel's military said, causing no reported injuries but prompting Israel to evacuate a ski resort there.

The IDF said it fired back with combined aerial and ground strikes at Hizbollah targets inside Lebanon. "We reserve our right to respond further," said Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman. "The governments of Lebanon and Syria and Hizbollah are responsible for this grave escalation."

The UN's Unifil peacekeeping force confirmed that one of its peacekeepers died near the Lebanese border town of Ghajar.

The dead peacekeeper was identified in Madrid as Javier Soria Toledo, a Spanish corporal serving his second tour in southern Lebanon. Spain's defence ministry said that the soldier was killed during the "incidents between Hizbollah and the Israeli army", without saying which side was responsible for the lethal fire.

The clash was the third and most serious in less than 24 hours; on Tuesday rockets were fired twice into Israel, prompting the IDF to strike back over the border in Syria, where Israeli officials accuse Hizbollah and Iran of seeking to establish a base in the Golan.

Hizbollah said the attack was launched by "The Quneitra Innocent Martyrs' Group of the Islamic Resistance." Quneitra was the location of the January 18 strike on the Golan that has been attributed to Israel, which has not acknowledged its role.

"At 11.25 in the morning . . . an attack in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms targeted an Israeli military convoy composed of a number of vehicles, Zionist soldiers and officers armed with rockets," the group said.

Israel's security establishment had been expecting the group to retaliate for its January 18 strike in the Golan, but were unsure whether it would hit back through the Lebanese or Syrian borders or attack an Israeli or Jewish target overseas.

Middle East analysts have long feared renewed fighting between Hizbollah and its arch-enemy Israel, who fought a war in 2006. They say that the group's missile capability has been rebuilt since the conflict and would overwhelm Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system.

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"What Hizbollah is trying to do is create a new situation on the ground where you cause instability," said Daniel Nisman, president of the Levantine Group consultancy. "It may not be as serious as blowing up an embassy, but it hurts the economy in the north, it's bad politics, and it's very, very effective."

People close to Hizbollah played down fears that Thursday's attack would prompt a military escalation, saying that the group chose the Shebaa region because it was not included in UN Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 war with Israel. They pointed out that Hizbollah attacked Israeli soldiers from the region last year with little response.

"Everyone should realise that what Hizbollah has done is part of its clear right to respond - from occupied Lebanese territory - to an attack against it," said Faisal Abdelsitar, a commentator for Hizbollah's Al Manar TV channel. "The resistance will not try to spread this towards the Golan in Syria or deeper into Lebanese land . . . but if Israel decides to do that, they will see how far we can go."

Additional reporting by Tobias Buck in Madrid

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