UPDATE - Israel says 55 rockets fired from Lebanon towards Upper Galilee

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army said on Saturday that approximately 55 rockets were fired from Lebanon into the Upper Galilee, northern Israel.

“Following the alarms activated in the Upper Galilee region, around 35 rockets were detected coming from Lebanese territory,” the Israeli army said in a statement.

It added that while some of these rockets were intercepted, the majority landed in open areas, with no injuries recorded.

The army also reported an earlier rocket strike when about 20 rockets were launched from Lebanon, some intercepted and others landing in open areas, again causing no injuries.

Daily Maariv reported that the Lebanese group Hezbollah on Saturday morning launched about 20 rockets at the city of Safed and the village of Akbara in the southern part of the city.

Safed, located about 41 kilometers (25.5 miles) from the Israeli-Lebanese border, also faced rocket attacks on Friday night.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported fires breaking out in open areas near Safed due to the rocket strikes, with some areas still occupied.

In response, the Israeli army said it conducted airstrikes using drones to target the rocket-launching platform in southern Lebanon. Additionally, the army reported attacking a Hezbollah military building in Kafr Rumman and launched artillery strikes on various targets in southern Lebanon.

"Earlier on Saturday, fighter jets bombed a military building where Hezbollah militants were active, and another military building belonging to the group in the Blida area of southern Lebanon,” said the Israeli army.

In a statement on X, the army said it launched an artillery attack on the Ayta Ash-Shaab area in southern Lebanon, but provided no further information.

Israel’s Channel 12 broadcaster reported that a rocket launched from Lebanon landed in an open area of Kfar Szold in the Houla Valley of Upper Galilee, northern Israel, without causing any injuries.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army's Home Front Command instructed residents of several settlements to close swimming pools, reduce traffic, and stay near shelters, according to Israel’s Channel 13 broadcaster.

Tensions have spiked along Lebanon's border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with an offensive against the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 41,100 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi and Rania Abu Shamala