MARI, Lebanon: Six rockets were intended to be fired into Israel from south Lebanon Friday, but only one hit northern Israel, drawing Israeli fire in retaliation, security sources said.
The sources told The Daily Star that Lebanese Army Intelligence and U.N. peacekeepers found traces of six rockets in the Mari area in the Hasbaya region, some 2 kilometers from the Blue Line, the de facto border between the two states.
They said the Army defused two 107mm Grad rockets that were prepared to be fired toward Israel following a search for launch pads.
The sources confirmed that four rockets had been launched from the Mari area near Majidieh between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. But, apparently a sole projectile hit an open space in Israel near Kfar Yuval, between the northern Israeli towns Metula and Kiryat Shmona, according to the Israeli army.
The Lebanese security sources said one the four rockets, which have a range of 10 kilometers, failed to fire and exploded in place.
They said traces of blood and a ripped shoe were found at the site.
The Lebanese Army said at least 25 artillery shells from Israel hit the outskirts of Kfar Shuba, without causing any casualties.
Kfar Shuba Mayor Qassem al-Qaderi said earlier in the day that at least 15 rockets fired from the Israeli-occupied part of Kfar Shuba landed on the western fringes of the town, particularly in Dahr al-Shqif and Darb al-Sowwan. There were no immediate reports of casualties, he added.
The Israeli army confirmed that a projectile fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel early Friday, causing no damage.
"One projectile hit an open space near Kfar Yuval, between (northern Israeli towns) Metula and Kiryat Shmona," a military spokeswoman told AFP, adding the army did not yet know whether it was a mortar bomb or a rocket.
The Associated Press, for its part, quoted Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner as saying it was unclear whether the new front was "symbolic or something more substantial."
Lerner said the military responded with artillery fire toward the source in Lebanon.
U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon spokesman Andrea Tenenti said UNIFIL was looking into the incidents.
"We are in touch with the parties, and we will soon issue a statement," he told The Daily Star.
The rocket attack from south Lebanon came as Israel pressed ahead in the fourth day of a major offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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