An Israel Defense Forces reservist was seriously wounded after being struck by a landmine when his unit mistakenly entered an Israeli minefield during operations on the Lebanon border, the military said, adding that the incident was under further investigation.
The soldier was taken to a local hospital, which reported that his condition had improved and stabilized after he underwent surgery for his wounds.
It was unclear on which side of the border the explosion occurred, nor whether the minefield was laid in the war against Hezbollah, which ended with a November 27 ceasefire that saw Israel withdraw from all but five points in south Lebanon.
It was also unclear if the mine in question was anti-tank or anti-personnel. Israel, along with several major powers, is not a signatory to the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines, but in 2011, it formed a governmental Mine Clearance Authority to clear minefields deemed unessential to state security.
Mines in Israel include Jordanian and Syrian ones laid mostly in the fifties and sixties, and Israeli ones that were mostly laid after the Six-Day War of 1967, as well as mines that drift over from Egypt, according to the Authority’s website, which says mines stay dangerous decades after they are laid.
The mine explosion on the Lebanon border came a day after a combat soldier from the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion was seriously wounded in the southern Gaza Strip, apparently due to an accidental misfire.
The war in Lebanon was sparked on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah, unprovoked, began launching near-daily attacks on northern Israel, displacing some 60,000 people. The attacks began a day after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Under the US- France mediated ceasefire that ended the war in Hezbollah, the terror group was required to vacate southern Lebanon, to be replaced by the Lebanese military and international peacekeeping force UNIFIL.
A source in the Iran-backed terror group told AFP Saturday that it has handed over most of its territory in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese military. Citing diplomatic sources, Channel 12 reported the Lebanese military is getting better and better under US oversight, but that it’s still too weak to take full responsibility of regional security, despite the backing of France.
Hezbollah has reportedly shown readiness in recent days to discuss disarmament with US-backed Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has vowed to maintain a state monopoly on arms. However, the terror group has reportedly continued to smuggle arms from Iran.
