Israel bombards Lebanon after rocket attacks

Israeli artillery pounded south

Lebanon

yesterday after two rockets landed in northern

Israel

, and an additional two projectiles landed short, falling inside Lebanon.

The early morning attack caught Israel by surprise as the northern border has been relatively quiet since 2006, when Israel and the Lebanese Shia Hizbullah fought a month-long war, although tensions increased earlier this month after an Israeli soldier was shot dead by a Lebanese army sniper.

The katyusha rocket that landed in Israel exploded close to the town of Kiryat Shmona, causing panic among residents, although no one was hurt.

Lebanese reports said dozens of Israeli shells were directed at the area from where the rockets were fired and Israeli helicopters also flew along the border.

No group claimed responsibility but Lebanese media speculated that a Palestinian group may have been responsible, or a Sunni militia aiming to drag Israel and Hizbullah into another round of fighting.

The United Nations peacekeeping force Unifil was in contact with both the Israeli and Lebanese military in an effort to prevent an escalation. Unifil and Lebanese army units searched the area from where the rockets were fired.

Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel held the Lebanese government responsible for rocket fire from within its territory.

“What is happening in Lebanon is that the Hizbullah is putting thousands of missiles and rockets in homes, in the heart of the civilian population, meaning it is committing two war crimes at the same time. It is organising fire at civilians, like it tried to do today, and it is hiding behind civilians, using them as a human shield.

“This double war crime is done with the protection of the Lebanese government and military.”

Defence minister Moshe Ya’alon warned that, if necessary, the army will respond with even more force than yesterday morning’s heavy shelling.

A senior Israeli military source said the army suspects a southern Lebanese jihadist group was behind the attack.