LEBANON: Israel retaliates with artillery fire after rocket fired from Lebanon strikes inside northern Israel

Record ID: 396888

  • Title: LEBANON: Israel retaliates with artillery fire after rocket fired from Lebanon strikes inside northern Israel
  • Date: 28th October 2009
  • Summary: HOULA, LEBANON (OCTOBER 27, 2009) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) WIDE OF VALLEY WHERE ISRAELI ARTILLERY RESPONDED TO ROCKET SIGN READING ''MAIS AL-JABAL'' LEADING TO THE VILLAGE OF HOULA BARBED WIRE SEPARATING LEBANESE-ISRAELI BORDER U.N. OBSERVATION POST VARIOUS OF U.N. ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER AND VEHICLE ON THE ROAD LEBANESE SOLDIERS STANDING AT CHECKPOINT (SOUNDBITE
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVABQ8OWF66B9CEEWV6FGT1UE1DZ
  • Story Text: A rocket fired from Lebanon struck inside northern Israel on Tuesday (October 27) causing no damage or injury, and Israel responded with artillery fire at Lebanon, the Israeli military and a Lebanese security source said.
    An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel was treating the shooting along the normally quiet though tense border "very seriously" and that it held the Lebanese government responsible.
    There were no reports of casualties from the rocket that security sources said slammed into an open area near the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmone, or from Israel's subsequent artillery fire at Lebanon.
    A Lebanese security source confirmed a rocket had been fired from southern Lebanon from the village of Houla, and another Lebanese security source said Israel fired at least eight artillery shells afterwards toward that area.
    Speaking to Reuters, one resident of Houla said that he was not worried about the exchange of fire.
    "There is nothing going on and no one is afraid and as you can see we are driving near the border. Everything is okay.'' The rocket was fired from an area near where the United Nations has investigated Lebanese charges that Israel planted spy devices then subsequently exploded them last week.
    There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the shooting.
    Both Israel and Lebanon accuse each other of violating a U.N.-brokered ceasefire from 2006 that ended a month-long war between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrilla group.
    Lebanon says that if confirmed, the listening devices it says Israel planted and blew up would be a violation of that truce, in addition to the overflight of unmanned drone surveillance aircraft over southern Lebanon.
    Israel has complained about two recent blasts involving weapons storage depots in southern Lebanon, and two rockets fired from Lebanon at northern Israel last month. A militant group claiming links to al Qaeda said it was responsible for the rocket attack.
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