Shots fired at IDF post near Lebanon border; soldier's dog tag deflects shrapnel

The IDF was investigating whether the gunfire was deliberate or misfire.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Updated: JULY 20, 2016 23:22
IDF troops on Lebanon border [file] (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF troops on Lebanon border [file]
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Gun fire from across the Lebanese border struck an IDF border post near Metulla on Wednesday.
The single shot – or multiple shots – did not injure anyone, though a bullet caused a piece of shrapnel from the army post to fly into the air, before striking the dog tag of a soldier who was guarding the Galilee panhandle position.
Army medics checked the soldier, who was unharmed. He was later taken to the hospital for a precautionary check-up.
The source of the gunfire has yet to be identified, the IDF said.
It was investigating whether the shot or shorts was stray fire or if the post was targeted.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the relative quiet on the border since the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
But he stressed that this quiet depends on one thing: deterrence. Not one-time deterrence, he stressed, “but continuous. I say to Israel’s enemies, we will respond to all acts of aggression with great force. No one is exempt [from IDF response].”
On Tuesday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman spoke during a Knesset ceremony to honor soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War.
“A sober look at the northern border shows that the relative quiet that characterizes the area is far from reflecting the mood among our enemies,” he said.
In such a reality, Israel must reexamine its guiding principles every morning, and increase the power and training of the IDF, Liberman said.