Atleast 2 Israeli soldiers killed in Israel-Hezbollah violence

News January 28, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

An anti-tank missile hit an IDF vehicle in the Golan Heights, prompting an exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which claimed responsibility for the attack. A UN peacekeeper and two IDF soldiers have been killed.

The Israeli Defense Forces vehicle was struck by an anti-tank missile in Har Dov (also known as Shebaa Farms), an area under Israeli control that borders on Lebanon and Syria, the IDF said.

In a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, Hezbollah said it resulted in casualties among “enemy ranks.”

Two Israeli soldiers were killed as a result of the attack by the militant group, according to a statement released by the Israeli military. The statement also said that seven soldiers were wounded.

The official announcement of the casualties was delayed for several hours so that the families of the victims could be notified.

The Hezbollah statement says the attack was carried out by a group calling itself the “heroic martyrs of Quneitra.” Quneitra is a district in the Golan Heights. The name of the group suggests the attack was in retaliation for the January 18 airstrike by Israel on the Golan Heights, which killed six Lebanese Hezbollah fighters along with a senior Iranian general.

No soldiers were kidnapped in the Lebanon incident, the IDF said.

“The rumor of abduction has been ruled out,” Reuters cited Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, who was commenting on Lebanese media reports of a soldier having been kidnapped.

Israel responded to the attack on the IDF vehicle by firing 25 artillery shells into Lebanon, according to Lebanese security officials cited by Naharnet.

Mortar bombs launched from Lebanon then hit an Israeli military position in the Golan Heights, Reuters reported citing the IDF.

A Spanish soldier serving as a member of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) was killed in the exchange of fire.

“One peacekeeper was killed,” Reuters cited Andrea Tenenti, spokesman for UNIFIL, as saying. “We are looking into the circumstances of this tragic incident.”

The Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo received a call from Israel’s ambassador expressing his condolences and apologies for the death of the soldier, according to Sputnik. 36-year-old Corporal Francisco Javier Soria Toledo was killed this morning by Israeli mortar, El Pais reports citing military sources.

Residents in the Israel-controlled area have been instructed to stay indoors.

“All residents are asked to return to their homes and to close all doors and windows until further notice,” the IDF’s Home Front Command said in a text message, cited by the Times of Israel.