Israel says 40 rockets fired from Lebanon as border fighting flares

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army said Wednesday that 40 rockets were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel as escalation with Hezbollah continues to rise.

Air-raid sirens sounded in several cities in northern Israel, including Safed, Tiberias, Western Galilee, Upper Galilee, Mount Meron, and the Carmel region.

“After sirens were activated in the Upper Galilee area, approximately 40 projectiles were detected crossing from Lebanese territory, some of which were intercepted,” the military said in a statement.

No injuries were reported.

Israeli media outlets reported several interceptions over the city of Safad.

The Israeli army vowed to continue its attacks against what it called Hezbollah targets and weapon depots across Lebanon.

Hezbollah, for its part, said that it shelled Hatzor settlement and Dado military base in northern Israel with dozens of rockets

It said the attacks were “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and their resistance, and in defense of Lebanon and its people.”

Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes in Lebanon since Monday morning, killing nearly 570 people and injuring over 1,800 others, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala