[1/5]Smoke rises from the village of Halta as seen from the village of Abel al-Saqi in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel, south Lebanon, October 8, 2023.
Oct 8 (Reuters) – Israel fired artillery barrages into southern Lebanon on Sunday after Hezbollah targeted three Israeli military bases in the disputed Sheba Farms.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
On Saturday, at least 250 Israelis were killed in the deadliest attack by Palestinian gunmen on Israeli towns in years, with another 230 Gazans killed in Israeli retaliatory bombing.
Hezbollah, a powerful armed group backed by Iran, said it had fired guided rockets and artillery at three posts in Sheba Farms “in solidarity” with the Palestinian people.
The Israeli army said on Sunday it fired artillery into an area in Lebanon where mortars were fired from across the border. “The artillery of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is currently attacking the area of Lebanon from where the shooting took place,” he said.
Israel’s military said one of its drones targeted a Hezbollah checkpoint in the Har Douf area of Sheba.
“At this time, there is no further threat in Har Do or the northern plains,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in televised remarks, adding that the army was on high alert.
Israel has occupied Sheba Farms, which covers 15 square miles (39 square kilometers), since 1967.
The UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said it had “detected a number of rockets fired from south-east Lebanon towards Israeli-occupied territory”, as well as Israel in response. Artillery fired into Lebanon by
“We are in contact at all levels with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to control the situation and avoid further escalation,” spokeswoman Andrea Tennetti said.
The Blue Line is the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, from which Israeli forces withdrew after withdrawing from southern Lebanon in 2000.
On Saturday, UNIFIL said it had increased its presence in southern Lebanon following developments in Israel and Gaza, including its operations to counter rocket launches.
Joanna Wronecka, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that she was “deeply concerned” by the exchange of fire and urged the parties to “stand by Lebanon and its Save the public from further chaos.”
Hezbollah, which effectively controls southern Lebanon, said on Saturday it was in “direct contact” with leaders of Palestinian “resistance” groups and described Palestinian attacks on Israel as “an ongoing Israeli occupation”. seen as a decisive response to and a message for normalization with Israel.”
Reporting by Beirut Newsroom and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Edited by William Mallard and Barbara Lewis
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