Israel was almost plunged into a major war in early August when Lebanese Army troops opened fire on Israeli soldiers along their shared Northern Galilee border, not far from the tense Golan Heights. One long-serving IDF reserve officer was instantly killed and another soldier severely wounded during the unprovoked attack. Subsequent press reports said Defense Minister Ehud Barak was on the verge of responding by launching a large military operation against Lebanon, which the Lebanese Army, Syria and Hizbullah would have undoubtedly fully and violently resisted. He was said to have been talked out of doing so by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is close to both Israeli and Lebanese leaders.
The intense border clash, which also left a number of Lebanese soldiers and a journalist dead, took place soon after a series of rockets were launched at two major Israeli cities, smaller communities, and at the Jordanian port city of Akaba. The Palestinian Hamas group was thought to be behind the string of hostile assaults.
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