Hamas claims rocket barrage from Lebanon into north Israel

Hamas' armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades fired Monday a barrage of rockets from south Lebanon toward a command center in northern Israel.

Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily strikes with Israeli forces in the border region — and sometimes beyond — for almost seven months against the backdrop of Israel’s war on Gaza. Hamas has also claimed cross-border attacks.

Hamas fighters "have fired a concentrated rocket barrage from south Lebanon towards" an Israeli military position, said the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades in a statement on Telegram.

The armed wing described the action as a "response to the massacres of the Zionist enemy (Israel)" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army told AFP that "approximately 20 launches crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory" but it had intercepted most rockets and struck "the sources of fire".

"No injuries or damage were reported," the army said.

An Israeli drone later struck the southern border town of Aita al-Shaab.

Hezbollah meanwhile targeted a group of soldiers in the Ruweisat al-Alam post in the occupied Kfarshouba Hills.

Hamas' rocket barrage came as Hamas negotiators were expected to arrive in Egypt on Monday, where they were due to respond to Israel's latest proposal for a long-sought truce in Gaza and hostage release.

On April 21, the Qassam Brigades claimed a rocket barrage into northern Israel.

A strike in January, which the U.S. said was carried out by Israel, killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and six militants in Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold.

An Israeli strike later in March killed a Hamas operative near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh in the Tyre district. Also in March, a Hamas official escaped an Israeli drone strike near the village of Souairi in the Bekaa Valley.

In Lebanon, at least 385 people have been killed in months of cross-border violence, mostly militants but also 73 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The tally includes at least 11 Hamas fighters.

Israel says 11 soldiers and nine civilians have been killed on its side of the border.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides.