2 rockets fired from Lebanon towards Israel

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-21 18:49

BEIRUT -- Two rockets were fired from south Lebanon toward Israel early Saturday, causing minor injuries to at least one Israeli, reported Israeli and Lebanese officials.

Israeli soldiers patrol the Israeli-Lebanese border on January 10. Israel fired three rockets on south Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese army said, in a tit-for-tat exchange after a rocket slammed into Israeli territory. [Agencies]

Lebanese security said the rockets were fired from the Mansouri and al-Qulaila areas near the coastal town of Naqoura. Initially there were reports that the rockets had fallen short of their target, landing in empty fields inside Lebanese territory close to the border.

But a senior Lebanese official later said one rocket appeared to have landed in Israel.

An Israeli army spokesman said a woman was injured and the military responded to the rockets. He did not elaborate.

Israeli paramedics in Jerusalem said one rocket landed in northern Israel, causing minor injuries to three people who were evacuated to a hospital in the nearby coastal town of Nahariya. Israeli censorship rules do not allow media to report where, specifically, rockets fired from Lebanon land in Israel.

The Lebanese officials said Israel responded by firing at least six shells on villages in the vicinity of the area where the rockets had been launched. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

No one claimed responsibility for the rocket firing.

The militant Hezbollah group has a large rocket arsenal but is not believed to have used them against Israel since their 2006 war.

Rockets from Lebanon have been fired into Israel on two occasions during Israel's Gaza offensive. Palestinian militant groups are suspected of launching them.

The firing came a day after the Israeli president chose hard-line Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new Israeli government.