Israeli forces fire smoke bombs at a gathering that included a deputy in southern Lebanon

Israeli forces launched smoke bombs towards a gathering that included Lebanese MP Kassem Hashem as he was touring near the border in southern Lebanon, according to a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the National News Agency.

The border between Lebanon and Israel, which are officially in a state of war, has witnessed tensions in recent weeks between Hezbollah and the Israeli army, who engaged in a major war in July 2006.

According to an AFP correspondent, Israeli forces launched a number of sound and smoke bombs toward MP Kassem Hashem, a member of the Development and Liberation Bloc led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and the accompanying journalists at the border near the occupied Chebaa Farms in Bastara Farm, which is one of the Israeli-occupied Chebaa Farms.

The National News Agency reported that Hashem and the journalists suffered from suffocation due to the incident.

Hashem also suffered minor injuries as a result of slipping when the smoke bombs were launched, according to an AFP correspondent.

There has been no comment from Israel. However, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stated that the Israeli forces launched tear gas canisters after "dozens of individuals crossed south of the blue line" in Bastara Farm.

The blue line is the ceasefire line drawn by the United Nations after Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. It passes through 13 disputed points between the two sides.

Following the incident, the head of the UNIFIL mission and the Force Commander, Major General Stefano Del Col, according to the statement, made contact with the Lebanese and Israeli sides.

UNIFIL emphasized that "several incidents have caused tensions in recent days, but thanks to the commitment of the parties on both sides of the blue line, their intensity has not escalated beyond that." It called for "continuing to exercise the same level of restraint in the coming hours and days."

Three Hezbollah members, the country's most prominent military and political force supported by Iran, were slightly injured on Wednesday due to the Israeli army's firing of a sound bomb, according to a Lebanese source and Agence France-Presse.

The Israeli army said in a statement that "several suspects approached the northern security fence and attempted to sabotage it in the area," noting that its forces "spotted the suspects and used means to disperse them."

This incident came less than a week after the Israeli army fired several shells toward Lebanese territory in response to an anti-tank missile it claimed was launched from Lebanon and exploded in the town of Ghajar, which Lebanon demands the return of its northern part.

Israel has recently completed the construction of a fence around Ghajar, which the Lebanese authorities considered an "attempt to annex it by Israeli occupation."

Lebanon demands the return of the northern part of Ghajar and the return of border areas from the occupied Chebaa Farms and the Kfarchouba Hills.

Weeks ago, Hezbollah erected two tents in the Chebaa Farms, one on the Israeli-occupied side. It also announced on June 26 the downing of an Israeli drone after it penetrated the southern border.

Hezbollah is a major player in Lebanon's political arena and possesses a vast arsenal of weapons, including precision missiles that Israel has long warned against.



AFP