UPDATE - 18 rockets fired from Lebanon towards central, northern Israel

CHANGES HEADLINE, UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army on Monday said it detected 18 rockets, including three ground-to-ground missiles, fired from Lebanon towards the Tel Aviv area in central Israel, according to official statements.

In a statement, the army said it detected 15 rockets launched towards the Galilee region in northern Israel, claiming to have intercepted some of them while others landed in open areas.

Earlier, the army said it detected three ground-to-ground missiles. The rocket firing triggered the activation of the air-raids sirens in both northern and central Israel.

The army has not yet reported any casualties or damage.

The statement claimed that the Israeli warplanes hit the launch site used in the attack in Lebanon.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,539 people, injuring over 4,471 others, and displacing more than 1.34 million people.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed nearly 42,300 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Mideast was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, it expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching a ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​