Rockets fired from Lebanon towards Israel
Israeli army says Iron Dome defence system intercepts one rocket, and no casualties are reported.
Several rockets were fired at Israel from southern Lebanon on Thursday, but one was intercepted by an anti-missile shield and three others fell outside Israeli territory, the military said.
There were no reports of casualties, but Israeli television showed at least one car damaged by remnants of the rocket that was shot down.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commenting on the strike, said in a statement that “anyone who tries to attack us should know that we will hurt them.”
Israel’s military, however, signalled it would not retaliate for now for the bombardment, which triggered warning sirens and sent residents in the north scrambling for shelter.
“The [Israeli army] is regarding this as a one-time incident. There is no change in regulations or orders,” army chief spokesman Yoav Mordechai told Channel 2 television, looking to play down the attack.
It was the first such incident since May. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday’s rocket fire and the Israeli army said it had not shot back across the border.
The Israeli military said initial information showed that four rockets were launched, and that the Iron Dome anti-missile system had destroyed one of them between the Israeli coastal towns of Acre and Nahariya.
“The remaining rockets fell outside of Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.
The rockets were fired from Rashidiyah, a Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Tyre in Lebanon.
“I heard a weak explosion, and then in parallel to the siren, I heard a stronger boom,” Keinan Engel, a resident of Nahariya, told Army Radio. “I went to take cover, in a reinforced room.”
Eli Bean, director of Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service, said no one had been hurt.