Israel said that the Rockets were shot into Israel by the Rockets from there after the bilateral ceasefire came into effect in November, a Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the IDF to “force the opposition to dozens of terrorist targets in Lebanon.”
The IDF earlier said that on Saturday morning, the Israeli town of Metula intercepted three rockets. No injuries.
No one admits to launching rockets. The Lebanese Prime Minister asked the military to take measures to prevent the country from being dragged into a “new war.”
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said it was “probably shocked by the escalation of violence” and urged Israel and Lebanon to “stay up with their commitments.”
IDF chief Eyal Zamir said earlier that “Lebanon is responsible” to maintain the ceasefire agreement, which ended a 14-month battle with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese armed group.
Local reports in Lebanon say artillery fires have been fired into the southern part of the country.
The truce has been fragile: Israel carried out air strikes on Hezbollah targets it described almost daily and showed that the attacks would continue to stop the group from rising.
In addition, the Israeli military still occupied five locations in southern Lebanon, and what the Lebanese government said was a violation of the country’s sovereignty and a ceasefire agreement, demanding the evacuation of Israeli forces.
Israel said Lebanese troops have not been fully deployed to these areas and need to remain in these places to keep their border communities safe.
The rocket attack on Israel on Saturday would put more pressure on the Lebanese government and could be used by Israel as evidence that Lebanese troops have no complete control over the border area.
Despite Israel’s ongoing attacks, Hezbollah has not responded yet. The group faces enormous challenges of providing financial assistance to war-affected communities, as well as pressure to disarm opponents.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun came to power in January and said only the state should have weapons in the country, which is considered a reference to Hezbollah’s arsenal. International partners in Lebanon say they will only help the country if the government takes action to curb Hezbollah’s power.
Hizbola launched a campaign the day after the attack on Israel in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, saying it was uniting with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The conflict has long escalated and has led to fierce Israeli air movements in Lebanon, assassination of senior Hezbollah leaders and ground invasions in southern Lebanon.
The offensive killed about 4,000 people in Lebanon – including many civilians – resulting in the displacement of more than 1.2 million residents.
Israel’s stated goal in its war with Hezbollah was to allow about 60,000 residents who returned to the country’s northern communities due to the attacks by the group and evacuate them from areas along the border.
