Lebanese Hezbollah fighters detonated a bomb on the Israeli-controlled side of the border on Tuesday, injuring two Israeli soldiers and ending months' long relative peace between the two bitter enemies.

Amid chaos in the region, Hezbollah and Israel have mostly sought peace since their 33-day war in 2006. The incident in the Shebaa Farms on Tuesday marks the first time Hezbollah claimed the attack against Israeli troops.

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On its Al Manar news channel, the militant group issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack just four hours after the blast, citing that it had targeted an Israeli patrol.  

Hezbollah has not given a reason for the attack, but noted that it was carried out in the name of Hassan Ali Haidar, a Hezbollah fighter whom the Israeli military troops killed last September. The group has rarely taken responsibility for rockets fired from Lebanon in recent years, reported The New York Times.

According to the Israeli military, the first explosion targeted soldiers patrolling along the ceasefire line near the Lebanese border.  Israeli soldiers later found a second bomb, which the Israeli bomb squad detonated.

The Israeli government denounced the explosion as a "blatant breach" of the country's sovereignty and responded by mounting artillery offense against two Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon. Lebanese witnessed reported that at least 30 shells have fallen in the vicinity since Israel's counterattack on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner issued a statement saying the Israeli troops have responded to an "unprovoked aggression" and will continue to work to maintain stability along the border.  

The escalation of violence has raised concern in Israel, but according to analysts like Eyal Zisser of the Tel Aviv University, the attack was not meant to open a wider confrontation. Rather, it is a "pinpoint" attack that was meant to assert Hezbollah's presence in the region, The New York Times said. 

TagsHezbollah attack, Israel, Hezbollah bomb, Israel-Lebanon