JERUSALEM

The Israeli army on Tuesday morning announced detecting 55 rockets fired from Lebanon that caused several fires in northern Israel.

It also said rocket sirens were activated in several Israeli towns and settlements in the Galilee area.

The army added that some of the rockets were intercepted while others landed in open areas, without causing casualties.

It noted that firefighting teams are working to extinguish the fires in several locations as a result of the rockets' firing.

The Israeli army claimed that its fighter jets attacked the rocket launchers that fired the rockets, without providing further details.

Fears of a full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah have grown amid an exchange of cross-border attacks, especially after the July 30 assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed over 40,100 people since last October following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar