Three rockets were fired towards northern Israel from Lebanon on Friday and Israel's army responded with artillery fire, Lebanon's military said, adding it was unclear who was behind the initial attack.
The Internal Security Forces Information Bureau declared that a man identified as Samir Hussein Abou Qays was arrested in the town of al-Habbarieh on suspicion of firing rockets towards Israel, noting that his vehicle, a red Renault Rapid was confiscated.
The Lebanese Armed Forces units conducted search operations across the olive grove in the outskirts of the town of Mari, the place from which the rockets were fired towards northern Israel. The army found in the scene two 107 mm rockets ready to be launched, while the investigations revealed that one of the perpetrators was injured during the launching and was transported to a nearby hospital.
According to the information made available, a bag was found at the scene containing communication devices, a map and a compass, as well as other equipment used by the perpetrators.
Consequently, the army set up security checkpoints across the regions of al-Arkoub and Hasbaya in order to verify the identities of the commuters and search suspicious vehicles.
Southern Lebanon is a stronghold of Hezbollah, a group that battled Israel seven years ago and is engaged in Syria's civil war in support of President Bashar al-Assad; but there are also Palestinian groups in the same area. In the past, militants linked to al Qaeda have claimed such attacks.
The rockets were fired from the Marjayoun - Hasbaya area towards occupied Palestinian territories, a statement from Lebanon's army said. The projectiles were launched in the hours before dawn.
The army communique said it discovered two missile platforms with more rockets ready for launch after searching the area. It had dismantled them and was continuing to sweep the area.
There have been several exchanges across the border in the past year.
In December, rockets launched from Lebanon struck northern Israel, provoking a response across a border that had been largely quiet since the war in 2006. In August, Brigades of Abdullah Azzam, an organization linked to al Qaeda claimed a rocket barrage from Lebanon.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said a lone rocket launched from either Lebanon or Syria landed in Israel's far north ending up in an open area near a farming community close to the border with Lebanon. The army responded with artillery fire, she said.
There were five rockets fired in total from southern Lebanon, Lebanese security sources said. Two entered Israel, one fell into Lebanese territory and two more were intercepted.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that Israel responded with artillery fire. Israel shot back around 25 shells, the Lebanese army said, and there were no reports of casualties.
Israeli Chief military spokesman Brigadier-General Motti Almoz said a rocket fell near Kibbutz Kfar Yuval and that the military was checking for more details on the source of the firing. There were no casualties or damage.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have launched a number of rockets into Israel since the start of an Israeli offensive four days ago, but Kfar Yuval is almost certainly out of range of those rockets.
An estimated 80 to 100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the offensive, which Israel says it launched to end persistent rocket attacks on civilians. Some rockets have reached Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities.
REUTERS/LBCI
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