Israeli soldiers near the border with Lebanon (Getty)
The Israeli army said that the Northern Command conducted intensive training last week as part of measures to increase preparedness on the northern border, while the Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it had carried out seven operations against Israeli sites.
The Israeli army said in a statement that, as part of the training plans for the reserve battalions deployed on the northern border line, the Northern Reserve Paratroopers Brigade, as well as specialized engineering forces, were trained to fight cities, specifically in the area of crowded residential neighborhoods amid winter weather conditions.
According to a military official, Israeli soldiers trained at various levels, including the level of combat teams that include infantry, military engineering, and artillery fighters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant hinted on several occasions at the possibility of waging a war against Lebanese Hezbollah on the northern border, in light of the bombing and mutual targeting between the two sides since last October.
Smoke rises after an Israeli bombing of a town in southern Lebanon (Anatolia)
Field developments
At the field level, the Israeli army spokesman announced that warplanes targeted Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including a site and building in Blida and Marwahin. He added that
the air defenses intercepted an air target inside Lebanon suspected of heading towards Israeli territory.
Sirens sounded in four towns in the Upper Galilee, adjacent to the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, after a suspected infiltration of a march from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.
The Israeli army said that four rocket shells fell in open areas in the Shlomi settlement in the Western Galilee on Saturday morning, without causing any casualties.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that an Israeli plane launched two raids on the town of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon.
On the other hand, Hezbollah announced that it had carried out seven operations against Israeli sites off the southern border of Lebanon. He said that he targeted Israeli soldiers with missiles in the vicinity of the Shumira barracks, the vicinity of the Jal al-Alam site,
the vicinity of the Al-Abad site, and the Doviv barracks, in addition to the Khirbet Maar base, and achieved direct hits.
The party confirmed that it targeted spy equipment at the Naqoura naval site and the Zabdin barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms.
Hezbollah published a video clip of what it said was the targeting of the Maale Golan barracks of the Israeli army adjacent to the Shebaa Farms, with a batch of “Falaq 1” missiles, which are 240 mm caliber, have a range of up to 10.5 kilometers, and carry high-explosive warheads without fragments.
Video | Scenes from the #Islamic_Resistance targeting Maale Golan Barracks (Arar Barracks) of the Israeli enemy army with a volley of Falaq 1 missiles pic.twitter.com/1HB6NjaRRz
- Al-Manar Channel (@TVManar1) January 27, 2024
In the wake of a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, since October 8, the Israeli-Lebanese border has witnessed tension and intermittent exchange of fire between the Israeli army on the one hand and Hezbollah and Palestinian factions on the other hand, which led to deaths and injuries on both sides, in addition to deaths and injuries. Among Lebanese civilians.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies