Lebanese army says troops exchange tear gas, smoke bomb fire with Israeli forces

[September 23, 2023]  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Lebanese army said on Saturday that it had fired tear gas at Israeli forces in response to attacks by smoke bombs fired by the Israelis in the Bastra area of southern Lebanon.  

"Elements of the Israeli enemy violated the withdrawal line and fired smoke bombs at a Lebanese army patrol that was accompanying a bulldozer removing an earthen berm erected by the Israeli enemy north of the withdrawal line, the blue line, in the Bastra area," the Lebanese army said in a statement.

"The Lebanese patrol responded to the attack by firing tear bombs...forcing them to withdraw to the occupied Palestinian territories."

Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in the area, said: "There has been tension today. UNIFIL is in touch with the parties to decrease tensions and prevent a misunderstanding. At the moment we are on the ground, monitoring the situation and trying to bring calm back to the area."

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Writing by Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Peter Graff)

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