Rockets from Lebanon hit Israel, sparking tension

A volley of rockets fired from Lebanon slammed into Israel today, the Israeli army said, prompting retaliatory fire and sparking new tensions in the volatile region.

The incident marked the first cross-border exchange of fire since August 1 and a rare instance of rockets being launched into Israel since the Jewish state waged war against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in 2006.

In a statement, the Israeli military said "a number of rockets" landed in the western Galilee region without causing any casualties and that Israeli troops "responded by targeting the origin of the fire."

Israeli media reported that a total of four Katyusha rockets hit the area, including one that struck a gas tank and caused a fire.

In Lebanon, a military spokesman said at least one rocket was fired from the region of Rumaysh, and at least four Israeli rockets were fired in response.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) also confirmed the attack and urged maximum restraint to prevent an escalation.

"UNIFIL radars detected firing of at least one rocket into Israel shortly after midnight last night from the general area of Rumaysh in south Lebanon," it said in a statement.

UNIFIL commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas said the attack was clearly aimed at undermining stability in the area.

"It is imperative to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of this attack and we will spare no efforts to this end working in cooperation with the Lebanese army," he said, adding that additional troops had been deployed.

Residents of Ayta al-Shaab, located near Rumaysh, said they heard four rockets being fired from a valley between the two villages overnight and scrambled for cover. They said they heard seven rockets fired from Israel in response.

There were no reports of injuries.

The region of Rumaysh is largely controlled by the powerful militant party Hezbollah, but an official from the group told AFP he had no immediate comment on Tuesday's incident.

Israeli military radio, citing army officials, said the rocket fire was likely the work of a small Palestinian or Islamist group rather than Hezbollah.

The radio added that Israeli military officials had stressed their desire to avoid an escalation and said that the response to the rocket fire would be "limited and selective."

Both Israeli government and military officials called on the Lebanese government and military to prevent rocket fire towards the Jewish state.

Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor told Israeli military radio that "the Lebanese government and its army hold sole responsibility for what happens" in southern Lebanon.

"The question of who is behind this fire is not yet answered," he said, adding that "Hezbollah understands that it has no interest in an escalation."

In its statement, the Israeli military warned that it considered the rocket fire "a serious incident and believes that it is the responsibility of the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army to avoid this kind of attacks."

The most recent exchange of fire along the always tense Israeli-Lebanese border was on August 1, when soldiers from the two countries opened fire along the Blue Line, the UN-drawn border.

That incident came almost a year after Lebanese and Israeli troops traded fire along the same border, killing two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist along with a senior Israeli officer.

The deadly flare-up was the worst clash between the two sides since Israel's devastating 2006 war in Lebanon against the Shiite Hezbollah militia, which destroyed much of Lebanon's infrastructure and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese -- mainly civilians -- and 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers.

In May 2011, tensions once again flared as protesters massed on the border between the two countries to mark the anniversary of the 1948 creation of the Jewish state, which Palestinians term the "nakba," or catastrophe.

Israeli troops killed 10 people and wounded more than 110 others as protesters tried to flood across the border from Lebanon.