The Lebanese military said it detained five Sudanese citizens Sunday near the border with Israel and was questioning them.
The announcement came hours after the Israeli military said it detained the five on suspicion they were trying to infiltrate the heavily-guarded border. Israeli media said the five were job seekers who were returned to Lebanon in coordination with the United Nations.
A spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon said they are looking into the case with the parties without elaborating.
The incident comes as the Lebanon-Israel border has witnessed tensions in recent weeks between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group.
Last month, foreign media reports claimed an Israeli drone fired two missiles near an SUV carrying Hezbollah members in Syria, close to the border with Lebanon. No one was hurt in the attack.
Two days after the drone attack, Israel accused Hezbollah of “provocative” activity, including multiple attempts to breach the border along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier, and said it would complain to the U.N. Security Council.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a bruising, 34-day war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Despite their deep hostility, they have largely refrained from direct fighting for the past 14 years.
First published: 19:30, 05.03.20