Rocket fire from Lebanon kills one in north Israel as Hezbollah claims attacks
Israel said rocket fire from Lebanon killed one person on Sunday as Hezbollah said it attacked soldiers in northern Israel, the first fatality there in fire from Lebanon since the latest war erupted.
Israel's ZAKA 360 emergency response unit said a person was pronounced dead after a strike on their vehicle "carried out by a rocket fired from Lebanon."
Local firefighters said flames had engulfed two vehicles after a "direct hit" in the northern Israeli community of Misgav Am.
"We arrived at the scene and saw two vehicles on fire. During the firefighters' extinguishing operations, we identified a man in the driver's seat," paramedics from Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said, adding that he was later pronounced dead.
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters targeted "a gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers" in Misgav Am "with a rocket barrage".
It was among a series of attacks the group claimed on Sunday, mainly against Israeli troops in northern Israel and in southern Lebanon, where Israeli soldiers have been carrying out ground incursions.
The Israeli army had earlier announced it had detected "a launch from Lebanon toward a community along the northern border".
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Israeli-U.S. attacks.
Israel has sent troops into Lebanon and carried out extensive airstrikes in the country, while Hezbollah continues to fire rocket barrages across the border.
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, according to the military.
Lebanese authorities have said more than 1,000 people have been killed in the country and more than one million others displaced in three weeks of conflict.
On Sunday, Hezbollah said its fighters repeatedly targeted Israeli soldiers and vehicles in or near the border town of Taybeh, as well as in or near Khiam, a strategic town where the group has repeatedly said it has targeted Israeli forces in recent days.
On Saturday, Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces in Khiam and in the coastal town of Naqoura.
The group also claimed attacks on northern Israel on Saturday, including targeting an air defense system in Maalot-Tarshiha, where Israeli public broadcaster Kan 11 reported three people were lightly wounded.
Source: Agence France Presse
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