Lebanon's military abruptly retracted an accusation against Israel on Sunday, admitting that five soldiers injured in an explosion were wounded by a roadside bomb planted by Hezbollah, not by an Israeli airstrike.
The Lebanese Army had initially issued an official statement blaming Israel for the injuries, which occurred during a military operation in the Byblos region. The accusation drew swift condemnation and triggered a rapid international response.
But within hours, the military reversed course in what amounted to a public act of embarrassment. The Lebanese Army now clarified that the soldiers were wounded by an improvised explosive device buried on a road — one almost certainly planted by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia that controls much of southern Lebanon.
The soldiers had struck the device during a patrol mission in the Byblos area. No Israeli military strikes or artillery fire contributed to their injuries, according to the revised Lebanese military account.
The reversal highlights the fractured political and military situation in Lebanon, where the army struggles to assert control over territory nominally under its jurisdiction but effectively dominated by Hezbollah. The rapid accusation followed by retraction suggests confusion within Lebanese command structures or pressure from multiple factions with competing interests.
The incident comes as Israel has begun a phased withdrawal from southern Lebanon under a pilot program coordinated with the U.S. and Lebanese forces. The pilot, which began late July, involves the handoff of three villages — Paron, Sarifa, and Zawtar al-Gharbia — to Lebanese Army control, with U.S. military monitors supervising the transition.
Israeli forces had occupied southern Lebanon since April following Operation Leo (known locally as Eternal Darkness), in response to Hezbollah's participation in the wider war alongside Iran. The Israeli military has reported destroying over 1,200 Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites during the eight-month campaign.
