BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israeli forces opened fire across the Lebanese border late today, killing one person and wounding another, Lebanese security officials said.
The Israeli military said it was responding to fire apparently from drug smugglers on the Lebanese side. Such shootings have been rare since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
The Israeli military said its soldiers came under fire in the border town of Ghajar, which is split between the two countries by a U.N.-demarcated line. The soldiers returned fire and identified a hit. There were no Israeli casualties.
Lebanese security officials said the two people shot were in Lebanese territory along the Wazzani River in the southeastern corner of Lebanon across from Israeli positions in Ghajar, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The two were taken to a hospital in Marjayoun, a major town in the area, where officials confirmed they had received one body and another person who was wounded.
Officials of the U.N. peacekeeping force, which is deployed in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel, had no immediate comment on the incident.
In November, Israeli troops in Ghajar opened fire, slightly injuring one of two men trying to infiltrate Israel. The injured man was carrying a bag of illicit drugs, the Israeli military said at the time.
There have been others incidents along the border since 2006 but most of the incidents have been resolved quietly with the intervention of the peacekeepers.
The most serious incident involved a shootout between Lebanese army troops and the Israeli army in February 2007 at Maroun el-Rass, an area of the border that was not clearly demarcated.
