Israel 'opens fires at Hizballah members' at Lebanon border

Israeli soldiers opened fire at suspected members of Hizballah on Saturday in the first incident of its kind since an operation was launched to destroy cross-border tunnels.

Israel's army said individuals identified as Hizballah operatives approached the border area and attempted to interfere with sensors deployed by the military.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli soldiers shot into the air when they saw a Lebanese army patrol near the border.

There were no reports of casualties.

Earlier, Israel's army said it had located another tunnel crossing into its territory from Lebanon, the second such find since launching an operation to expose and destroy alleged Hizballah "attack tunnels.

Also Saturday, the Kremlin said Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces are fighting on the same side as Hizballah in Syria, to tell him about the tunnel operation. 

Putin "stressed the need to ensure stability along the line separating Israel and Lebanon", the Russian embassy in Israel said.

On Tuesday, the army launched an operation dubbed "Northern Shield" to destroy tunnels it said were dug under the border by Hizballah, sharing images of one found near the Israeli town of Metula.

Lebanon's foreign ministry said this week it will submit a complaint to the United Nations about "repeated Israeli violations”.

Lebanon's army said it was monitoring the situation closely and was "fully prepared to face any emergency".

There has been no comment from Hizballah.

In 2006, a month-long war between Israel and Hizballah killed more than 1,200 Lebanese civilians, displaced over one million, and devastated infrastructure in the country.

Israel and Hizballah have avoided major conflict since 2006, though Israel has launched multiple attacks in neighbouring Syria targeting the powerful Shia group.

Agencies contributed to this report.