1 Israeli injured in renewed rocket fire from Lebanon

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli was injured by a new rocket barrage from Lebanon on Monday as the US continues mediation efforts to reach a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

A military statement said that 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon, triggering air-raid sirens in the Galilee region in northern Israel.

The army said some of the rockets were intercepted while others struck open areas.

Israeli Channel 12 said a taxi driver was injured by shrapnel of an inceptor missile in the northern city of Nahariya.

The rocket fire came as Israeli media said that a cease-fire deal is expected to be announced between Israel and Hezbollah within two days.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN, citing an Israeli source, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a US-backed cease-fire with Lebanon.

The report came one day after US envoy Amos Hochstein on Sunday threatened to withdraw from mediation efforts aimed at brokering a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon if Tel Aviv does not accept a US proposal, according to Israeli media.

Hochstein informed Israel's ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, that if Tel Aviv fails to respond positively to the US cease-fire proposal with Lebanon, Washington will pull out from the mediation process, Israel’s Channel 13 reported.

Israel has escalated its airstrikes in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets as part of year-long warfare with the Lebanese group since the start of the Gaza war last year.

More than 3,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, with more than 15,300 injured and over a 1 million displaced since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 this year.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara