A Lebanese commander admits their soldiers initiated gunfire and UNIFIL says the tree was on the Israeli side of the border.Tuesday’s armed clash between the Lebanese and Israeli military left a total of five dead at the cessation of hostilities.
Three Lebanese soldiers, an Israeli commander, and a Lebanese journalist died in the confrontation.
The dispute began over the Lebanese military’s perceived breach of their border by a group of Israeli military engineers ordered with taking down a tree obscuring a security camera.
A spokesman for the Lebanese military told a Lebanese newspaper that it had fired first claiming a right to defend its national sovereignty.
A UNIFIL representative also substantiated Israeli claims that at no time did the Israeli troops cross the border into Lebanon. At some points along the shared border the Israeli security fence is set back from the actual border.
