BEIRUT: 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. It said some 15 rockets were launched from Lebanon, of which four were intercepted and 10 fell in open spaces.
Lebanon was already on edge after six fighters were killed along the border on Monday: three Hezbollah members, an Israeli officer, and two Palestinian fighters who touched off the violence by infiltrating Israel from Lebanon.
The United Nations interim peacekeeping force in the south, known as UNIFIL, said it detected a rocket launch south of Tyre at around 5:30 p.m. local time, urging restraint on all sides.
Its spokesperson said UNIFIL units were sent into underground shelters in the area from where the rockets were launched.
The UN’s special coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said she met on Tuesday with Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib, the head of its army Joseph Aoun and the acting head of General Security Elias Bayssari.
“During this difficult time of uncertainty for the country, more than ever, the people of Lebanon need security and stability,” she wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
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.