Israel-Hizbullah Tensions Rise after Reported Assassination Attempt Fails

The Israel Defense Forces over the weekend thwarted a potential breach of the border fence with Lebanon, just days after a reported attempt by the Israeli military to assassinate one of the sons of a former top Hizbullah commander. “IDF inspections revealed damage to the fence at three locations.… The circumstances will be investigated, yet it is clear that no breach of Israeli territory occurred,” the military said in a statement. It added that Israeli troops had earlier detected suspicious activity in the area and responded in order to “den[y] an intrusion.” The incident came after the IDF last Wednesday was accused of targeting a vehicle carrying Mustafa Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, a Hizbullah terror mastermind who was killed in a 2008 car bombing in Damascus jointly attributed to Israel’s Mossad spy agency and the CIA. According to Arab media, the younger Mughniyeh was able to escape with his life after an initial missile stuck wide and before a second destroyed the vehicle moments later. The attack followed accusations by the IDF that the Syrian army was helping Hizbullah establish permanent military infrastructure in the Golan Heights, an operation in which Mustafa Mughniyeh was allegedly heavily involved.