Israel strikes Lebanon in response to cross-border launch

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM: Israeli artillery fire and airstrikes hit southern Lebanon on Saturday after Israel said it had intercepted rockets fired from across the border, threatening a shaky truce that ended a year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.

That conflict marked the deadliest spillover of the Gaza war, rumbling across the border for months before escalating into a blistering Israeli offensive that wiped out Hezbollah’s top commanders, many of its fighters and much of its arsenal.

The Israeli military said earlier it intercepted three rockets launched from a Lebanese district approximately 6 km (4 miles) north of the border, the first cross-border launch since a US-brokered ceasefire in November ended the fighting.

Israel’s Army Radio said the military was returning artillery fire. Lebanon’s state news agency said Israeli artillery hit two towns in southern Lebanon and airstrikes hit three other towns closer to the border.

Israel did not say who was responsible for the cross-border launches. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was to have no weapons in southern Lebanon, Israeli troops were to withdraw from the region, and Lebanese troops were to deploy to the area.

The agreement specifies that Lebanon’s government is responsible for dismantling all military infrastructure in southern Lebanon and confiscating all unauthorized arms.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for the rockets fired onto the border town of Metula.

“We will not allow rocket fire from Lebanon on the Galilee communities. We promised security to the communities of the Galilee – and that is exactly how it will be. The rule for Metula is the rule for Beirut,” Katz said in a statement.

The ceasefire brought an end to Israel’s intense bombardment and ground operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s daily rocket barrages into Israel. Each side, however, has accused the other of failing to implement the deal in full.

Israel says Hezbollah still has military infrastructure in the south, while Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel is occupying Lebanese land by continuing to carry out some airstrikes and keeping its troops at five hilltop positions near the border.