The Israeli military has accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas of firing dozens of rockets from southern Lebanon into northern Israel.
It said most of the 34 rockets were intercepted but that six hit Israeli territory, causing damage to buildings. One man was lightly wounded by shrapnel, according to medics.
Hamas said it had no information about who fired the missiles. The attack was the biggest single barrage from Lebanon in 17 years.
It comes at a time of rising tensions. There has been outrage in the region at the actions of the Israeli police, who have raided the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem – Islam’s third holiest site – for the past two nights, triggering violent confrontations with Palestinians inside.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, have also fired 25 rockets at Israel over the same period, and the Israeli military has carried out air strikes there in response.
Air raid sirens sounded in communities across northern Israel on Thursday afternoon, after rockets were launched from Lebanon while Israelis celebrated the Jewish festival of Passover.
The Israeli military did not say where the six rockets that struck Israeli territory landed. But photographs showing damage to several buildings in the border town of Shlomi, including a bank, and a car in the village of Fassuta.
“We heard booms and sirens. A rocket hit the roof of a car as it was passing my house, but the rocket didn’t explode. When I went after the car, I saw someone was injured,” one eyewitness said.
Oreoluwa is an accountant and a brand writer with a flair for journalism.
