The Israeli army announced Monday (August 10th) that it had reduced its deployment along its border with Lebanon and Syria, the scene of recent incidents that raised fears of further escalation.
Read also: Israel fears a "provocation" from Hezbollah
In July, the Israeli army deployed new reinforcements along its northern border, at the crossroads of Lebanon and Syria, claiming to have " raised its level of preparedness against various potential enemy actions ". " Following an assessment of the situation, we decided to withdraw part of the troops in this area, " the army said in a statement on Monday. " Some restrictions on the movement of military vehicles in the area have been dropped as well as roadblocks in the northern border area ," the statement added.
At the end of July, Israel had carried out artillery fire on a border area, in retaliation according to the Jewish state for an attempt to infiltrate " terrorists " into its territory by Hezbollah, which the latter had however denied. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of " playing with fire " after the attempt blamed on the Lebanese Shiite movement, while the Lebanese Prime Minister condemned a " dangerous military escalation " after the Israeli fire.
In addition, the Israeli army shot down a drone last Friday that crossed its border with Lebanon in the region of Mount Hermon, a highly strategic site, located at the crossroads of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Israel is still technically at war with Lebanon and Syria.
