Lebanese military reports discovery of Israeli spy device, removal of "border berms"

BEIRUT, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army announced on Tuesday that it had discovered an Israeli espionage device and removed two earthen berms erected by the Israeli army in a border area in southern Lebanon, according to a statement issued by the Lebanese Army Command's Orientation Directorate.

"In the course of ongoing engineering survey operations in the southern regions, a specialized military unit discovered an Israeli enemy espionage device camouflaged and equipped with a camera on the outskirts of the village of Blida-Marjayoun in southeastern Lebanon. The unit dismantled the device," the statement said.

The army added, "The unit also removed two earthen berms that had been erected by the enemy in the villages of Blida and Mays al-Jabal - Marjayoun."

The statement noted that the Lebanese army continues to monitor the situation in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, amid ongoing Israeli violations of Lebanon's sovereignty and security, particularly in the south.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency earlier reported that "an Israeli force, accompanied by two bulldozers, had infiltrated the Al-Maraj vineyards on the outskirts of Mays al-Jabal in the eastern sector of the border area, where it erected an earthen berm and encroached on dozens of meters of Lebanese land before withdrawing."

The developments come amid an ongoing ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, brokered by the United States and France, which has been in effect since Nov. 27, 2024. The deal ended more than a year of clashes between the two sides triggered by the war in Gaza.

Despite the agreement, the Israeli military continues to carry out occasional strikes in Lebanon. Enditem