Kibbutz Manara, as seen from along border with Lebanon, 2012. Illustration. Photo: Dave Bender

Israel said it is holding both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah responsible for two roadside bomb blasts that lightly wounded two Israeli troops at Har Dov on the Lebanon border, Tuesday afternoon. The Lebanon-based Shiite group took responsibility for the attacks, Army radio said.

“In response to the activation of an explosive device in Har-Dov, which injured two IDF soldiers, the IDF responded with artillery towards two Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. A second device was detonated later on,” according to the IDF.

“The Lebanese government and Hezbollah are directly liable for this blatant breach of Israel’s sovereignty. The IDF responded to the unprovoked aggression “‹against its forces and will continue to operate in order to maintain the safety of”‹the northern border of Israel,” according to IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.

The two, who were apparently in an armored vehicle when the attack took place, were treated on the scene and then evacuated for treatment.

Har Dov is under Israeli control on the northern side of Mt. Hermon, on the nexus of the Lebanese and Syrian borders.

Authorities warned Israeli farmers working lands near the border to evacuate the area.

Israeli aircraft are overflying the vicinity, according to Israel Radio and Lebanese sources.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the opening of a cabinet budget-approval session Tuesday evening, expressed his appreciation “for the IDF soldiers who foiled today a terrorist attack on our northern border,” his office said.

Shabaa Farms area, near nexus of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Wikipedia

The bomb was in the same area as a shooting incident two days ago in which IDF troops opened fire on suspected infiltrators, wounding one, according to Lebanese sources.

The suspected infiltrators returned to Lebanese territory.

The area has seen at least two similar clashes in the past year. On September 21, an Israeli drone crashed near the Lebanese town of Marjayoun, north of the border and the parts were collected by the Lebanese army.

Growing tension along Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon in the last few months have prompted an uptick in civilian requests for weapons licenses.

“I hear more and more residents who want their weapons at home, because they fear the infiltration of terrorists and are afraid they will not know how to handle it,” according to Yossi Adoni, deputy head of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council and community leader at Moshav Zarit, which lies along the western sector of the border with Lebanon.