Rockets fired from Lebanon into north Israel

Two Katyusha rockets were fired from a Lebanese village five kilometres from the border with Israel; says Lebanese source

The rocket fire from the Hezbollah heartland of south Lebanon followed the killing of Samir Kantar (AFP) 

Sunday 20 December 2015

The rocket fire from the Hezbollah heartland of south Lebanon followed the killing of Samir Kantar (AFP)

Two Katyusha-type rockets were fired from south Lebanon into Israel on Sunday, a Lebanese security source said, and in Israel the army said rockets had hit the north.

"Two Katyusha rockets were fired from a Lebanese village five kilometres (three miles) from the border with Israel," the Lebanese source told AFP.

A statement from Israel's military suggested that three rockets were fired.

"Sirens sounded in northern Israel. Initial report suggests three rockets hit northern Israel. Forces are searching the area," it said.

Across the heavily militarised frontier, troops with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese army were searching for the firing point, the Lebanese source said.

The rocket fire from the Hezbollah heartland of south Lebanon followed the killing of Samir Kantar, a militant in the Shia group notorious for the 1979 murder of three Israelis, including a four-year-old girl.

Hezbollah said the 54-year-old Kantar was killed in an Israeli air strike near the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday night.

There was no confirmation from Israel that it was responsible for Kantar's killing.

Members of Hezbollah are fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces against insurgents who have been battling to oust him for nearly five years.

The Israeli military said it shelled unspecified targets in neighbouring south Lebanon shortly after cross-border rocket fire hit northern Israel on Sunday.

"The Israel Defence Forces have responded with targeted artillery fire following the rockets that hit Israel earlier today from southern Lebanon," an English-language army statement said.

Israeli military sources told AFP that one rocket crashed into the Galilee region and the impact of another was heard.

No casualties were reported.

The sources said the military ordered local residents into bomb shelters.

In Lebanon, the national news agency NNA said Israel fired nine rounds of artillery at the south.