Israeli troops wound man who crossed frontier from Lebanon

Israeli soldiers on Sunday shot and wounded a man who crossed from Lebanon into Israeli-held territory, the military said. The Israeli military said the man was taken to an Israeli hospital. His identity and condition were not immediately known, and the army said it was investigating. A report in Lebanon said the man was a shepherd who had not crossed the frontier.

The army said the incident occurred after the man crossed from Lebanon into Shebaa Farms. The area is a disputed enclave along the frontier between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Israel says the enclave is part of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed. The U.S. is the only country to have recognized Israel's annexation of the Golan.

Lebanon and Syria say Shebaa Farms belong to Lebanon, while the United Nations says the area is part of Syria and that Damascus and Israel should negotiate its final status. The Lebanese-Israeli frontier has seen tensions rise in recent weeks between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

Ali Shoeib, the correspondent for Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV in southern Lebanon, tweeted that the man was a Syrian shepherd who was herding hundreds of goats and not trying to cross the frontier. He said the man was near the “Blue Line,” the U.N.-demarcated frontier, and had not crossed it when he was shot. Shoeib posted a photo of a blood-soaked shirt that he said belonged to the Syrian man, whom he said worked for a Lebanese shepherd.

In April, an Israeli drone fired on a truck carrying Hezbollah fighters in Syria near the border with Lebanon. No one was hurt. Two days later, Israel accused Hezbollah of “provocative” acts, including attempts to breach the border. Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006 to a stalemate.

Earlier this month the Lebanese military detained five Sudanese citizens who had crossed into Israel.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)