BEIRUT (Reuters) – A salvo of rockets was fired on Tuesday from southern Lebanon towards Israel, three security sources told Reuters, in the third consecutive day of violence along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
One security source said the bombardment was carried out by Palestinian factions. A second source said Israeli shelling was hitting the southern area from which the rockets were launched.
The Israeli military said it was responding with artillery fire to launches coming from Lebanese territory.
Lebanon was already on edge after six fighters were killed along the border on Monday – three Hezbollah members, an Israeli officer, and two Palestinian militants who touched off the violence by infiltrating Israel from Lebanon.
The United Nations interim peacekeeping force in the south, known as UNIFIL, said it was verifying reports of rockets being fired.
Hezbollah has voiced support for the Palestinians, saying its “guns and rockets” are with them. On Sunday, Hezbollah fired at three Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms along the border and two more military posts in Israel on Monday.
But the heavily armed, Shi’ite faction has so far not opened a major second front against Israel.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut and Henriette Chacar in Jerusalem; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alison Williams and David Gregorio)
