The Israeli military suspects Lebanese Hezbollah is responsible for an explosion that seriously wounded a man two days ago, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency announced.

On the morning of 13 March, a bomb planted on the side of the Route 65 highway near the Megiddo Junction in northern Israel exploded. An Israeli Arab man, Shareef al-Din, 21, from the Arab village of Salem, was seriously injured, the Times of Israel reported.

Following the explosion, Israeli soldiers closed roads and carried out a search for the culprit who planted the bomb.

Several hours later, security forces stopped a car near the northern Israeli town of Yaara, close to the border with Lebanon, carrying a Lebanese man suspected of the attack.

The counterterrorism unit and Shin Bet officers then opened fire at the suspect, killing him. The Israeli military claimed the suspect was a “clear danger” to the security forces and was wearing an explosive belt, and had additional explosives in the car.

According to the Jerusalem Post, “This was despite the fact that videos are out on social media of someone in the car raising their hands, possibly to surrender.”

The military said the suspect crossed into Israel from Lebanon to plant the bomb, possibly on behalf of Hezbollah, although this has not been confirmed.

Israeli military sources said that if it is concluded that Hezbollah did order the attack, “there will be consequences, and Israel will not remain silent.”

Israeli military officials initially issued a gag order banning reporting on the explosion at the Megiddo junction, in part because the character of the improvised explosive device (IED) was not similar to those previously used by Palestinian resistance groups active in the occupied West Bank.

The delay in releasing information about the attack led to speculation and the spreading of rumors on social media about the nature of the explosion. Israeli officials previously said that publishing the details of the Megiddo bombing would undermine the public’s sense of security at a time when the security establishment is trying to avoid confrontation.

Recent months have witnessed an increase in the use of explosive devices by Palestinians as opposed to just shooting operations, in what is being described by many as the beginnings of a third intifada. As a result, the security establishment fears advancement in bomb-making capabilities by the Palestinian resistance in the occupied West Bank.