Lebanon builds road on Israeli border, as tensions with Hezbollah escalate

Adam Lucente

Jul 20, 2023

Lebanese army soldiers and peacekeepers (blue helmets) of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). — Lebanese army soldiers and peacekeepers (blue helmets) of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stand along the barbed wire fence marking the border between Lebanon (foreground) and Israel (background) as an excavator from south Lebanon's Kfarchouba municipality clears away earth to open a road near the Blue Line, in protest at Israeli construction work nearby, on July 20, 2023. — ALI DIA/AFP via Getty Images

The construction of a road in southern Lebanon near Israeli territory led to clashes on Thursday as tension with militant group Hezbollah escalates on the border.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that locals in southern Lebanon town of Kfarchouba tried to approach the Israeli border on Thursday. They also used a bulldozer to create a road in response to Israeli construction in the area. Israel fired smoke bombs at the Kfarchouba residents after they approached the border, according to the agency.

The Hezbollah-controlled news outlet Al-Manar reported that the locals started building a road to Shebaa Farms, a nearby town in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The construction followed Israel erecting a cement wall in the area, according to outlet.

The Israeli Defense Forces did not immediately respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment.