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August 4, 2010

Overnight, a border clash between Israeli and Lebanese troops left five people dead.

While statements from both sides have been reported in most Australian media, some contextualising facts have been excluded by some media.

These are:

1. There is strong evidence backing up Israeli claims that Israeli troops were on the Israeli side of the international border when Lebanese soldiers opened fire.

2. The fence between the two countries was built by Israel, and lies in Israeli territory, leaving a space of some metres between the fence and the international border

3. Israeli troops had crossed the fence, but had apparently remained in Israeli territory.

4. Israel had informed the UN presence in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of its intention to cross the border.

5. UNIFIL observers and journalists accompanied the Israeli troops at they crossed the fence, furthering the argument that it was not a cross-border raid and that Israeli troops remained on the Israeli side of the international border.

6. A UNIFIL officer has reportedly confirmed that Israel forces did not cross the border into Lebanon, according to the Jerusalem Post (08/03/2010).

The following image has been provided by the Israel Defence Forces, and shows where the incident took place, in relation to the border fence and the international border.