Israel strikes Lebanon in retaliation for rocket attack

Israel had said that it would respond 'severely' to the early Saturday attack from Lebanon when rockets were fired into northern Israel.

Israel struck Lebanon on Saturday in retaliation for rockets targeting Israel, killing two, including a child, in the heaviest exchange of fire since the ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Earlier, rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, for the second time since December, sparking concern about whether the fragile ceasefire would hold. In a statement Saturday, Hezbollah denied being responsible for the attack, saying that it was committed to the truce and accused Israel of blaming it for the strikes as a pretext for more attacks.

Israel had said that it would respond “severely” to the early Saturday attack from Lebanon when rockets were fired into northern Israel. Israel’s army said the intercepted rockets targeted the Israeli town of Metula.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Saturday that the strike in the southern village of Touline also wounded eight others.

Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza ignited the conflict there. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into an all-out conflict in September as Israel carried out massive waves of airstrikes and killed most of the militant group’s senior leaders. The fighting killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 60,000 Israelis.

Under the ceasefire reached in November, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January. The deadline was then extended to Feb. 18 by agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

But since then, Israel has remained in five locations in Lebanon, across from communities in northern Israel, and has carried out dozens of airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it attacked Hezbollah, while continuing targeted drone attacks that have so far killed several members of the militant group.

Lebanon has appealed to the U.N. to pressure Israel to fully withdraw from the country.