Israel says struck 3 targets in Lebanon after rocket fire

JERUSALEM

The Israeli army said Thursday that it had struck three targets inside Lebanese territory after rocket fire into Israel.

A military statement said Israeli forces attacked a cell trying to fire anti-tank rockets at military positions near the Lebanese border.

According to the statement, rockets were launched at a military outpost close to the Israeli-Lebanese border. No injuries were reported.

The army said it also struck rocket launchers inside the Lebanese territory.

Tension has flared along the border between Israel and Lebanon, with exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah amid an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The border clashes have been the deadliest since Hezbollah and Israel fought a full-scale war in 2006, when the Lebanese group struck major Israeli cities with rockets, causing significant damage.

More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in that war, while much of southern Lebanon — a Hezbollah stronghold — was devastated by Israeli attacks.

The escalation comes as Israel widened its air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Israeli border towns on Oct. 7.

Nearly 10,600 people have been killed in the conflict, including 9,061 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara