The IDF eliminated three Hamas-affiliated terrorists who tried to infiltrate into Israel from Lebanon in the Mount Dov area early Sunday morning, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
Hezbollah has attacked and destroyed significant aspects of the IDF’s surveillance capabilities during the ongoing conflict since October, and there was an extremely misty and opaque haze in the area at the time, including heavy rain.
Akk of this, plus the many large boulders in the area, made it much more difficult to detect the penetration in advance, which enabled the Hamas forces to penetrate a couple hundred meters into the Mount Dov area, though still not close to any Israeli residential areas.
What helped locate the terrorists?
Two factors helped the IDF track and locate the Hamas terrorists.
First, one of the lookout posts saw suspicious movements in real time and radioed that information to Battalion 1706.
Second, Battalion 1706 in the area had a mix of static defense forces, along with patrol forces which were already moving around, and this allowed them to arrive more quickly in a spot where they could intercept the Hamas terrorists’ according to their predicted trajectory.
The terrorists were very well-armed with anti-tank missiles, grenades, and significant amounts of ammunition for their Kalashnikov rifles.
Although the IDF forces killed the three Hamas forces, the attackers managed to wound five IDF soldiers, two moderately, and three lightly, when they engaged them with grenades.
The IDF also carried out artillery and mortar fire toward Lebanon during the incident, with Lebanese media reporting over 60 projectiles were fired toward the Shebaa Farms area of Lebanon in the incident.
Initial reports said that the IDF had killed four invaders, but once the sun rose, the weather cleared, and the IDF was able to inspect the site of the battle, they found three dead Hamas bodies.
IDF estimates are that the Hamas terrorists hoped to sneak up on an Israeli installation to destroy it.
Throughout the day on Saturday, Hezbollah took responsibility for eight separate attacks along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Halevi warns 'Hezbollah may turn all of Lebanon into a combat zone'
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi warned on Saturday night that "Hezbollah has chosen to act as a 'Hamas shield' under Iran's command, and we are exacting an ever-increasing price from it."
"Those who condition an end of clashes in the north with an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip will pay increasing prices. So it was, so it will be in the future," added Halevi.
"The security reality in the north is already taking shape these days. We are keeping the Radwan terrorists away from the border and damaging Hezbollah's capabilities that it has built up over the years. We operate freely in Lebanon's airspace and attack any threat we detect."
"The southern Lebanon region is a combat zone, and it will remain so, as long as Hezbollah operates from it. Hezbollah may turn the entire country of Lebanon into a combat zone, this will have a heavy price," warned the chief of staff. "We are prepared for war even today, and are constantly improving our capabilities. We are committed to changing the security situation in such a way that will allow the residents to return to their homes in complete safety - in the north and the south."