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Bomb Wounds IDF Soldiers Near Syrian Border

Third incident in north of Israel in past two weeks

by
Batya Ungar-Sargon
March 18, 2014
Israeli soldiers patrol along the Israel-Syria border on March 5, 2014. (JALAA MAREY/AFP/Getty Images)
Israeli soldiers patrol along the Israel-Syria border on March 5, 2014. (JALAA MAREY/AFP/Getty Images)

Three Israeli soldiers were wounded today near the Syrian border when a bomb hit their jeep, Haaretz reports. The wounded soldiers were evacuated by helicopter and are being treated for light and moderate wounds at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The IDF responded to the explosion with artillery fire, hitting several targets.

This is the third such incident in the north of Israel in the past two weeks. On Friday, an IDF convoy traveling on the border with Lebanon was struck by a bomb that the IDF concluded was set off by Hezbollah, the Jerusalem Post reports. According to the Times of Israel, this attack happened in Israel, which means that the gunmen entered into the country from Syria. And 10 days ago, IDF forces fired upon people suspected of planting bombs near the Syrian border fence, Haaretz reports.

According to Haaretz, “Tensions have risen in the north since an airstrike, attributed by foreign reports to the Israeli Air Force, targeted a Hezbollah weapons convoy in Lebanon.

Hezbollah threatened to attack Israel in retaliation, and Israeli authorities directed civilians to steer clear of the border to avoid possible sniper fire.”

Batya Ungar-Sargon is a freelance writer who lives in New York. Her Twitter feed is @bungarsargon.