JERUSALEM
Israel said on Thursday that it had received a message from Lebanese Hezbollah group that it had no wish to escalate attacks following fierce confrontations a day earlier near the border.
Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post has quoted Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon as saying that Israel had received a message from the UN's peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that Hezbollah was not interested in further escalation.
"Indeed, a message was received," he said. "There are lines of coordination between us and Lebanon via UNIFIL (the UN force) and such a message was indeed received from Lebanon."
Two Israeli troops were killed and seven others wounded earlier on Wednesday when the Lebanese movement Hezbollah attacked with anti-tank missiles two military vehicles in the Israel-occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms region.
A UNIFIL soldier – part of a Spanish unit – was also killed in the violence. UNIFIL has not accused either Hezbollah or Israel of killing the solider.
However, a Lebanese security official had told AA that the peacekeeper was killed by an Israeli shelling during the confrontations.
"I can't say whether the events are behind us," Ya'alon said. "Until the area completely calms down, the Israel Defense Forces will remain prepared and ready."
For over two years, Hezbollah has been openly engaged in the conflict in Syria, where it continues to fight alongside Syrian regime forces.
In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in which more than 1,200 Lebanese – mostly civilians – were killed by Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon.
The conflict had also left 160 Israelis – mostly soldiers – dead.
