The Israel-Lebanon Border.

JNS.org – Four Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were wounded, two of them moderately, in an explosion along the Lebanese border overnight Wednesday, Israel Hayom reported.

The IDF, in a statement, did not say what the cause of the explosion was and would not elaborate on whether the incident was combat-related or a training accident. According to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency, a landmine explosion struck the soldiers’ patrol, which crossed into Lebanon’s southern border and advanced 150 meters inside the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh.

Israel Radio said the soldiers were part of an elite military unit, adding that large military forces were deployed to the area following the blast.

The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Nahariya for treatment. According to a Walla News report, three of the wounded soldiers were being operated on, while the fourth was admitted to the intensive care unit. Israel Radio quoted the hospital director as saying that all four soldiers arrived at the hospital conscious, and all had suffered shrapnel injuries.

The incident takes place seven years since the end of the Second Lebanon War, a period in which relative quiet has been maintained along the border.

“During an overnight operation adjacent to the northern border, an explosion occurred, injuring four IDF soldiers lightly to moderately. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for further treatment. This incident is being investigated,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.