Explainer: As Lebanon-Israel border heats up, 3 armed groups stand out

Beatrice Farhat

Oct 10, 2023

sraeli soldiers take positions near the Israeli military base of Har Dov on Mount Hermon, a strategic and fortified outpost at the crossroads between Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, on October 10, 2023. Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed three Hezbollah members on October 10 amid surging tensions after Palestinian militants tried to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon, in an escalation on Israel's northern border two days after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on the country's southern flank from the — Israeli soldiers take positions near the Israeli military base of Har Dov on Mount Hermon, a strategic and fortified outpost at the crossroads between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, on Oct. 10, 2023. — JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

BEIRUT — As the Hamas-Israel war rages on for its fourth day, tensions in southern Lebanon are brewing amid cross-border fire between the heavily armed Hezbollah group and Israel and an intense Israeli military buildup on its northern border.

Since Sunday, Hezbollah has fired multiple rockets and artillery shells toward Israeli military positions in the area in solidarity with Hamas. Israel responded with heavy fire, targeting several southern towns and villages in Lebanon. The exchange of fire resumed on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility for a militant entering Israel from southern Lebanon on Monday.

“As part of Al-Aqsa Flood battle, a-Quds Brigades declares its responsibility for the operation carried out this afternoon in southern Lebanon on the border with occupied Palestine, which resulted in the injury of seven Zionist soldiers, including one in serious condition,” the group said in a statement.