Hezbollah claims responsibility for new rocket fire into Israel raising fears of escalation

Jalaa Marey AFP/Getty Images Israeli self-propelled howitzers fire toward Lebanon from a position near the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona following rocket fire from the Lebanese side of the border, on Aug. 6, 2021.

JERUSALEM â€" A series of military exchanges between Israel and Lebanon  escalated Friday when Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets across the border from Lebanon, prompting immediate retaliatory strikes in Lebanese territory, according to the Israeli military.

There were no immediate reports of injuries on either side. But the number of rockets marked an increase from a pair of launches Wednesday that triggered Israel’s first acknowledged air attacks in southern Lebanon in years early Thursday. The escalation, which largely targeted a disputed border strip known as Shebaa Farms, added to concerns that the exchanges, limited so far, risked spilling into open conflict.

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group and political party that controls southern Lebanon, immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s assault. Previous rocket attacks in recent weeks were widely blamed on unidentified Palestinian groups.

In a statement sent via WhatsApp, a media coordinator for Hezbollah said: “At 11:15 am on Friday, and in response to the Israeli air raids on open ground [in southern Lebanon] early Thursday, [two groups] in the Islamic resistance bombarded open land in the perimeter of the Israeli occupation’s positions in Shebaa Farms with tens of 122 mlm grade rockets.”

The Israel Defense Forces said 19 rockets were fired toward Israel, with three falling short in Lebanon. Of the rest, 10 were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system and six landed in open countryside near the towns of Ein Qiniyye and Neve Ativ, the military said.

Within the hour, the Israeli military said it was “striking the launch sources in Lebanon.” United Nations monitors confirmed Israeli artillery fire over the border.

Residents of northern Israel, including the Golan Heights and northern Galilee, were instructed to seek shelter, according to reports. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was reportedly preparing to convene an emergency meeting of security and military advisers.

The United Nations, which maintains a monitoring force along the border, called on all sides to implement an immediate cease-fire.

“This is a very dangerous situation, with escalatory actions seen on both sides over the past two days,” Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col, commander of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, said in a statement. “UNIFIL is actively engaging with the parties through all formal and informal liaison and coordination mechanisms to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.”

An Israeli military spokesman said Hezbollah seemed to be reasserting its dominance in southern Lebanon following recent rocket launches attributed to other militant groups. But the careful targeting of Friday’s attack away from populated areas suggests that Hezbollah is not seeking an outright confrontation, according to the spokesman, Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler.

“We don’t believe Hezbollah wants a full-out war, and we definitely don’t want a full-out war, although we are very prepared for that,” Shefler said in a briefing with reporters Friday.

The flare up comes at a time of uncertainty in both countries.

Israel is increasingly concerned about Iran’s provocative activities in the region, including a fatal drone strike on an Israeli-affiliated tanker in the Arabian Sea. Israel holds Iran responsible for the actions of groups it sponsors around the region, including Hezbollah.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah and other factions are wrestling with myriad crises. The country is sinking deeper into economic ruin, with the currency having weakened more than 10 times its official value against the dollar. Gasoline and bread shortages abound.

A fuel shortage has left much of the generator-reliant country in the dark as 20-hour electricity cuts have become the norm, straining generator use.

An explosion in a warehouse that ripped through the capital, Beirut, on Aug. 4, 2020, led to the resignation of the government and has left the country mired in a political stalemate. The incumbent prime minister failed to form a government and resigned last month, after nine months of gridlock and political infighting.

On Wednesday, the first anniversary of the blast that killed more than 200 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, protests erupted against the political elite and all parties, including Hezbollah. Security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators in Beirut.

Those internal tensions were on display Friday when a truck used to fire rockets toward Israel was surrounded by Lebanese citizens apparently angered that their neighborhoods might become targets for Israeli retaliation, according to photos and video on social media.

Hezbollah, in a second statement, confirmed the encounter between its forces and civilians and sought to make clear that the attack was launched far from residential areas.

“The Islamic Resistance was, continues to, and will remain the most careful over its people, to not expose them to any harm during its resistance work,” the group said.

Dadouch reported from Beirut.

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