...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nastrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
killed three Hezbollah members Monday, the Lebanese group said, as tensions surged after Paleostinian forces of Evil tried to infiltrate into Israel from Lebanon.
The escalation on Israel's northern border with Lebanon comes two days after Hamas
...always the voice of sweet reason,...forces of Evil launched a historic multi-pronged attack on Israel's southern flank from the blockaded Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
Strip sparking a fierce war with Israel.
Hezbollah issued three separate statements confirming the death of its members, all of them "martyred as a result of the Zionist aggression on south Lebanon Monday afternoon," the group said.
The group retaliated by striking two Israeli barracks, it later said.
"Groups of the Islamic Resistance® (Hezbollah), in an initial response, attacked" two Israeli barracks "using guided missiles and mortar shells that hit them directly," Hezbollah said in a statement.
A Hezbollah source had earlier told AFP a member was killed "in an Israeli strike on a watchtower in south Lebanon" near Aita al-Shaab village.
Israeli mortar shelling outside the border village of Rmeish "slightly maimed" a Lebanese officer, the Lebanese Army said in a statement Monday.
Israel's army said its soldiers had "killed a number of armed suspects" who had crossed the frontier from Lebanon and that its helicopters were striking the area.
The Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
group's armed wing, which claims to be fighting Israel alongside Hamas, said earlier it was behind a thwarted bid to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon.
"The al-Quds Brigades claim responsibility for the afternoon operation on the south Lebanon border," the group said in a statement.
The mayor of the Lebanese border village of Dhayra said Israel was shelling the area.
"Fields on the outskirts of the village were subjected to intense Israeli artillery shelling, preceded by intermittent gunfire," the mayor, Abdullah al-Gharib, told AFP.
- 'UTMOST CAUTION' -
Hezbollah, whose arch-foe is Israel, had earlier denied any involvement in the border festivities.
An AFP photographer at the scene said he saw dozens of Lebanese and Syrian families fleeing as the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab village came under heavy bombardment.
The Lebanese Army in a statement said the periphery of "Dhayra, Aita al-Shaab and other border areas were subjected to air and artillery bombardment by the Israeli enemy."
It urged citizens "to take the utmost caution" and avoid border areas.
Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel, said UNIFIL commander Aroldo Lazaro was "in contact with the involved parties."
He said Lazaro had urged them to exercise "maximum restraint" to prevent "further escalation and loss of life."
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israel had expanded bombardment on the same border area with "enemy warplanes intensifying their flights and launching incendiary bombs."
The festivities come a day after Hezbollah said it had fired artillery shells and guided missiles at the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, "in solidarity" with attacks launched from Gaza by its ally Hamas.
Israel's army said it hit back on Sunday with artillery into southern Lebanon.
In 2006 Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers. The two countries remain technically at war.
Israel has warned Hezbollah against involvement in the war with Gaza.
At least 800 people in Israel and 560 in Gaza have been killed since the conflict erupted on Saturday, according to tolls from officials on both sides.