donnieyendragontigergate|2 Lebanese soldiers injured in Israeli strike on watchtower

BEIRUTdonnieyendragontigergate, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Two Lebanese soldiers were injured on Sunday in an Israeli attack targeting a watchtower in the southwestern border region, according to the Lebanese military.

The Lebanese Army Command reported that the Israeli strike hit the army watchtower located outside the village of Alma al-Shaab. The two soldiers were wounded in the attack and were transferred to the hospital.

Meanwhile, military sources told Xinhua anonymously that an Israeli Merkava tank fired a shell directly at the watchtower. The sources added that the soldiers sustained moderate injuries and the watchtower was extensively damaged.

The Lebanese Army Command has requested the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to conduct a field investigation into the incident.

In response, Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Israeli military's Zarit barracks with artillery shells. The Lebanese militant group also reported attacks on the Israeli Northern Corps command headquarters at Ein Zeitim base and on soldiers in Hanita, an Israeli kibbutz, with Katyusha rockets, resulting in casualties.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified on October 8, 2023, following a rocket barrage launched by Hezbollah in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the previous day. Israel retaliated by firing heavy artillery into southeastern Lebanon.■