- Title: MIDDLE EAST: Israeli army says Lebanese soldiers ambushed engineer unit
- Date: 4th August 2010
- Summary: JERUSALEM (AUGUST 3, 2010) (REUTERS) VIEW OF ANDY DAVID, FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, ANDY DAVID, SAYING: "We hold the Lebanese government responsible for this grave incident, and we warn them of further consequences if those violations will continue. Our mission in and to the UN is going to file a protest with the Securit
- Embargoed: 19th August 2010 13:00
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- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA3Q94PEV6S9VOU9PILYSNZV01N
- Story Text: Israel said it holds the Lebanese government responsible for a deadly clash between Israeli and Lebanese soldiers on Tuesday (August 3) and warned of a possible ramifications if violence were to continue.
At least five people were killed in the cross-border fighting. Four of the dead were Lebanese, the fifth fatality was an Israeli officer. The Israeli military identified him as a battalion commander holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
One injured Israeli soldiers was airlifted to Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa.
"From the incident in the north we got a single injury. His situation is moderate, he was wounded in the chest area by something which appears to be shrapnel, multiple wounds in the chest area and left hand. We have stabilised him and he is undergoing CT scans," Doctor Shlomi Yisraelit, head of the emergency unit at Rambam hospital said.
Israel views the Lebanese government as responsible for this serious incident and is warning of the ramification if the violations continue, Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"We hold the Lebanese government responsible for this grave incident, and we warn them of further consequences if those violations will continue. Our mission to the UN is going to file a protest with the Security Council and with the Secretary General," Andy David, a spokesman from the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Reuters.
Security sources said Israeli army engineers came under fire from Lebanese soldiers while working along the frontier, and the troops shot back.
Israel's border commander, Major General Gadi Eisenkot said Lebanese troops ambushed the engineer unit,
"It was a planned ambush by a sniper unit which carried out the shooting toward (Israeli army) commanders, who were clearly standing by a post in our territory, this was obvious and one could make no mistake about it," Major General Gadi Eisenkot said.
He said an Israeli tank came under fire from a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), and when it missed, the tank fired and killed the RPG squad.
The Lebanese Army said an Israeli patrol had crossed the technical line of the border even though U.N. peacekeepers in the area told it to stop.
Israel Radio reported that explosions echoed along the frontier, indicating a possible rocket strike on northern Israel.
Israeli military engineering units maintain a security fence along the border with southern Lebanon, an area dominated by the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah movement, which waged war with Israel in 2006.
Lebanese army troops are also stationed in southern Lebanon along with U.N. peacekeepers. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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