An Israeli woman stands against the wall
after a rocket fired from Lebanon landed in the northern city of Naharia
Jan. 8, 2009. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
JERUSALEM, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Several rockets pounded
northern Israel Thursday morning, causing several light injuries and Israeli
forces fought back shortly by firing mortars across the border, Israeli sources
said.
Explosions were heard in northern Israel, caused
probably by rockets from neighboring Lebanon and several people were lightly
wounded. Israeli TV reported.
It was still unclear whether the rockets were fired
by Hezbollah or by Palestinian organizations in Lebanon acting in solidarity
with Hamas, which denied Thursday that it was responsible for firing rockets
into northern Israel from south Lebanon.
Residents of the western Galilee bordering Lebanon
were quoted as saying that at least three rockets hit their communities, with
one falling close to the town of Nahariya.
Israeli police have ordered the residents there to
remain close to the fortified areas, and school has been closed in the region.
In a quick response, Israel fired mortars across the
border shortly after the rocket attack, both Israeli and Lebanese security
sources said.
An Israeli military spokesman said Israeli mortars
were targeted at "the source of fire." Five artillery shells were reportedly
fired by Israeli side.
A Lebanese security source confirmed the news.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is
investigating these incidents. Assessments by the IDF Northern Command indicated
that the barrage was likely to have been fired by Palestinian groups, though it
could not be ruled out whether Hezbollah might have told them to fire, The
Jerusalem Post reported.
During the Gaza offensive, the Israeli army and
police have also been on high alert in the north, amid fears that the Lebanese
Hezbollah movement might launch attacks.
A man takes a picture of the
damaged roof after a rocket fired from Lebanon landed in the northern
Israeli city of Naharia Jan. 8, 2009. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Israel has warned the group that should it ignite a
second front, Israel would retaliate massively.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said
that the IDF could not destroy Hamas and that his group would crush any assault
Israel might carry out against it.
The rocket attack from southern Lebanon was the first
since the Jewish state launched on Dec. 27 its offensive against Palestinian
militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Weeks earlier, several rockets were discovered in
southern Lebanon aimed at Israel and ready to fire, prompting UN peacekeepers
and Lebanese troops to step up patrols along the border with Israel.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the
Lebanese army "have deployed additional troops and intensified patrols and
security control of the area," local news service Ynet quoted UNIFIL spokeswoman
Yasmina Bouziane as saying.
The UNIFIL commander is in contact with senior
Lebanese and Israeli military officials, she added.
Israel and the Hezbollah guerrillas went into a
month-long war in 2006, which left over a thousand people dead and a million
displaced.
BEIRUT, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah informed the Lebanese
cabinet that it was not involved in rocket attack on northern Israel; al-Jazeera
TV quoted Lebanese Information Minister Tareq Mitri as saying Thursday.
Hezbollah had adopted the stand of the Lebanese
cabinet which is keen on sparing Lebanon from any escalation with
Israel. Full story
JERUSALEM, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Blast was heard after an air
raid siren sounded in northern Israel on Thursday morning, shortly after three
rockets pounded the area.
Eyewitnesses said that a rocket landed near a kibbutz
in the Western Galilee, causing no injuries or damage, while the police said
that despite the explosion sound, no rocket landing sites has been
detected. Full story
BEIRUT, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Four Israelis were wounded
Thursday morning by rockets launched from southern Lebanon on northern Israeli
towns of Naharia and Galeli, pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV reported.
In response, the Israeli army shelled Hamra,
al-Jiben, and Tayr Harfa towns in southern Lebanon, from where the rockets were
launched. Full story
BEIRUT, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese official said the
rocket attack on northern Israel was a violation of UN Security Council
resolution 1701, Saudi Arabian al-Arabiya TV reported Thursday.
UN resolution 1701 ended the 34-day war between
Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, and prohibited any attacks from Lebanon on
Israel. Full story
BEIRUT, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli warplanes are carrying
out intensive flights over the western sector in southern Lebanon, pan-Arab
al-Jazeera TV reported Thursday.
The Lebanese army is searching the area where the
Katyusha rockets were launched on Thursday morning against Israel, while UN
troops intensified patrols in southern Lebanon.
Schools in southern Lebanese towns bordering Israel
were closed. Full story
BEIRUT, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Information Minister
Tareq Mitri told foreign press Monday that all factions in the Lebanese cabinet
insist on not dragging the country into a war with Israel.
"There is a united stand in the government which
insists on stability in the country," Mitri said.
He added that there was no "sign that Hezbollah would
jeopardize to drag Lebanon into this conflict." Full story
BEIRUT, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri said Sunday that Israel's current aggression against Gaza Strip,
"amid Arab silence," is targeting every Arab city, NBN TV reported.
Addressing visitors at his home town Msayleh, in
south Lebanon, the Shiite parliament speaker stressed that those who took the
Palestinian case to the UN should have known that Israel is above all
international resolutions. Full story
AMMAN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese relief plane Sunday
arrived at Jordan's capital of Amman to send humanitarian aids to Palestinians
in the Gaza Strip, said a Jordanian charity group.
The plane, which carried 20 tons of medicine, medical
supplies, and blankets, was received by the Jordanian Hashemite Charity
Organization (JHCO). Full story
