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Six rockets fired from Lebanon, fall short of Israel border; IDF hits back
Military responds with artillery fire, orders communities near northern border to open bomb shelters; no injuries reported
Six rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israel late Monday, but they apparently fell short of the border fence. The military said it responded with artillery fire.
The rockets triggered warning sirens in some communities near the border. The army later ordered communities within four kilometers (2.5 miles) of the northern border to open bomb shelters.
There were no injuries reported.
A Lebanese military source confirmed to AFP that several Grad-type rockets had been fired from the Shebaa Farms area in southern Lebanon toward Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces believed that a small Palestinian faction — not the Hezbollah terror group — was responsible for the attack, military spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said on Tuesday morning.
The IDF anticipated that rocket and mortar attacks from Lebanon were likely to continue as the military fights the Hamas terror group in Gaza, as they did in the 2014 war in the Strip.
The United Nations peacekeeping force along the border, UNIFIL, said early Tuesday that the border was now calm.
“UNIFIL detected firing of rockets from the general area of Rashaya Al Foukhar north of Kfar Chouba in S. Lebanon,” UNIFIL tweeted, noting that the Israel Defense Forces returned artillery fire toward location from which the rockets originated.
It was the third time rockets have been fired from Israel’s northern neighbors in recent days, as intense fighting between Israel and Gazan terrorists continued for an eighth day, amid protests across the Arab world against Israel’s actions there and in Jerusalem.
Three missiles were fired at Israel from Syria on Friday evening, hours after the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group said one of its members was killed by Israeli fire during a protest on the border.
One rocket fell inside Syria and the other two landed in open areas of the Golan Heights, the military said.
On Thursday, Israeli forces fired tank shells as a warning to a group of protesters who broke through the border fence with Lebanon near Metulla, sabotaging the barrier and setting fires, the military said.
Lebanon said one person was killed and Hezbollah later said 21-year-old Mohammad Tahan was a member of the Shiite terror group.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun strongly condemned “the crime committed by Israeli forces” when they opened fire at the group.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire or confirmation of a link between the events. However, Hezbollah and other Iran-supported militias have attacked Israel from Syrian territory in the past.
On Thursday, three rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israel, all of which landed in the sea. A spokesperson for Hezbollah told Lebanon’s L’Orient Today news outlet that the terror organization was not behind the attack.
Israel has a waged a nearly decade-long bombing campaign in Syria aimed at thwarting Iran and allied militias, including Hezbollah, from setting up bases to attack the Jewish state from or transferring advanced arms.
Agencies contributed to this report
