IDF catches 5 migrants trying to enter Israel from Lebanon

Israeli troops detained five people who tried to cross into Israel from Lebanon overnight, the military said Sunday morning.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said the suspects appeared to be Sudanese migrants looking for work.

“The suspects were caught as they tried to cross the security fence,” the army said.

The five men were sent back to Lebanon, the IDF spokesperson said.

The incident came roughly two weeks after Hezbollah operatives allegedly vandalized portions of the security fence separating Israel from Lebanon.

On April 17, the IDF found that damage was caused to the fence at three locations along the border. A day later, Israel officially accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group of being responsible for the vandalism, which was seen in Israel as a threat, and Foreign Minister Israel Katz instructed the Foreign Ministry to file a complaint at the UN Security Council.

Also last month, IDF troops and Lebanese army soldiers faced off near the border in a highly irregular incident, with photos from the scene showing the two sides raising weapons at each other and UN personnel standing in between. The incident took place between the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh and the northern Israeli town of Metulla, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Times of Israel, saying that while it was south of the Blue Line — the unofficial, but widely recognized border between the two countries — Lebanon deems the area to be contested.

Israel has fought two wars in Lebanon, one in 1982 against Palestinian terrorists and one in 2006 against the Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as numerous operations against terror groups in the country.