(HASBAYA, LEBANON) — At least two rockets fired from south Lebanon were reportedly launched into the northern region of Upper Galilee in Israel on Friday. Only one projectile was reported to have hit Israel, however.
According to Lebanon’s state-owned National News Agency, the rocket was launched from the Hasbaya region at 6:00 am, a few hours after a failed attempt to fire a rocket from Mari, Lebanon. The first rocket was launched at 1:15 am, according to sources. The Israeli army says no injuries are reported.
“One projectile hit an open space near Kfar Yuval, between (northern Israeli towns) Metula and Kiryat Shmona,” a military spokeswoman told AFP, adding the army did not yet know whether it was a mortar shell or a rocket.
A representative of Israel’s Defense Ministry says the rocket was fired by a small organization in southern Lebanon, not Hezbollah.
Hussein Izzat Atwe from Hebbarieh was arrested in the Al-Bire Hospital, where he was receiving treatment for burns. The ISF Information Branch also apprehended a Lebanese man, identified only as Abu Qais after they found blood stains in his car, which sparked a search of area hospitals for suspects.
The National News Agency says that Atwe confessed to belonging to extremist groups and that two Palestinian men were with him when he launched the rockets.
Mayor Qassem al-Qaderi says at least 15 rockets were fired, particularly targeting Dahr al-Shqif and Darb al-Sowwan. There are no immediate reports of casualties.
U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese army began a search for the rocket launch immediately after. They defused two 107mm Grad rockets in Mari, the same area where two others were fired from on northern Israel. It also found military gear in Ain Arab.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told the Associated Press that it was unclear whether the new front was “symbolic or something more substantial.”
Prime Minister Tammam Salam telephoned Defense Minister Samir Moqbel to gather the latest developments into the Israeli attack on Lebanon and developments in the south.
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