Israel closes border with Lebanon

(Patria) - The Israeli army today banned access to a zone within four kilometres of the Lebanese border and said it is deliberately disrupting GPS services there and on the southern front with Gaza as part of its operations.

The GPS disruption could affect app functions, the chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, stated on Twitter.

Fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah today fired a guided missile at an Israeli village along Israel's northern border, killing one person and wounding three others, the militant group and Israeli medical services reported.

The Israeli army said it carried out a counterstrike on Lebanon in retaliation, firing 12 missiles at the vicinity of Aita al Shab, according to Lebanese security sources. According to these sources, Israel also targeted the southern Lebanese settlements of Rmeish and Ramiya.

Since Hamas's attacks on Israel and the Israeli army's counterattacks on Gaza, there have been constant incidents along the Israel-Lebanon border in recent days, raising concerns of further escalation. The pro-Iranian militia Hezbollah is active in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which is trained and financed by Iran, is considered much more powerful than Hamas. Since the last war between Israel and that movement in 2006, Hezbollah has become significantly stronger. According to the latest Israeli army estimates, it has an arsenal of over 100,000 rockets.

Israel's national security advisor warned the Lebanese militant group not to start a war on a second front, threatening the "destruction of Lebanon" if it does so.

Tzachi Hanegbi said that Israel "is trying not to be drawn into a war on two fronts" and warned Hezbollah to stay away from the fighting, as reported by Hina.

- We hope that Hezbollah will not, de facto, lead to the destruction of Lebanon, because if there is a war there, the result will be severe - he threatened, alluding to long-standing Israeli threats of heavy strikes on the country in the event of a large-scale launch of Hezbollah's rocket arsenal.