BEIRUT — Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said it fired "dozens"
of rockets Friday at open areas of the disputed Shebaa Farms district, drawing
retaliatory Israeli strikes for a second straight day.
اضافة اعلان
It is the first time that Hezbollah has directly claimed an attack on Israel
since 2019, as tensions boil along the border following a week of tit-for-tat
exchanges.
The latest round of rocket fire on Friday morning came "in response to
the Israeli air raids" that hit south Lebanon on Thursday, Hezbollah said
in a statement.
"The Islamic Resistance shelled open territory near positions of
Israeli occupation forces in the Shebaa Farms with dozens of rockets," it
said.
An AFP correspondent in south Lebanon said he heard several explosions and
saw smoke rising from the Shebaa Farms.
The Israeli occupation forces said they were "currently striking the
launch sources in Lebanon".
On Thursday, occupation forces carried out air strikes on Lebanon for the
first time in seven years in response to a previous salvo of cross-border
rocket fire.
Israel has warned repeatedly that it will not allow a power vacuum and a
deepening economic crisis in Beirut to undermine security on its northern
border.
The Israeli military said it "views the state of Lebanon as responsible
for all actions originating in its territory, and warns against further
attempts to harm Israeli civilians and Israel's sovereignty".
The Shebaa Farms district is claimed by Lebanon and Hezbollah, but the
United Nations, which has maintained a peacekeeping force in south Lebanon
since 1978, regards it as part of the Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel has
occupied since 1967 and unilaterally annexed in 1981.
Read more Regional news
.jpg)
.jpg)
