IDF Officer Lightly Wounded in Shooting on Syrian Border
by JNS.org
JNS.org – An officer from the Israel Defense Forces’ Givati infantry brigade was lightly wounded on Tuesday after Israeli troops came under fire in the northern part of the Golan Heights. The officer sustained shrapnel wounds to his hand, was treated at the scene, and did not require evacuation to a hospital.
The incident occurred in a relatively quiet sector. The IDF is investigating whether the shooting was purposeful or an act of errant gunfire from the Syrian side of the border. After the officer was wounded, additional gunfire was heard in the sector, but did not cause any injury or damage.
Due to the ongoing Syrian civil war and recent tensions with the Hezbollah terrorist group, the IDF has been on high alert along Israel’s northern front. In late January, anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah operatives killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded seven more near the northern border town of Ghajar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being responsible for the attack, which was thought to be carried by Hezbollah in retaliation for a Jan. 18 airstrike attributed to Israel.