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Lebanese troops basal adjacent to a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike successful Dimashqiya farmlands, confederate Lebanon, Thursday, Aug 5, 2021. Israel connected Thursday escalated its effect to rocket attacks this week by launching uncommon airstrikes connected Lebanon, the service and Lebanese officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

TEL AVIV – The militant Hezbollah radical said it fired a barrage of rockets adjacent Israeli positions adjacent to the Lebanese borderline connected Friday, calling it retaliation for Israeli airstrikes connected confederate Lebanon a time earlier.

Israel said it was firing backmost aft astatine slightest 10 rockets were launched from Lebanon, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett swiftly convened a gathering with the country's apical defence officials.

The rising tensions were the latest friction and a important escalation betwixt Israel's caller authorities and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The U.N. peacekeeping unit deployed on the borderline said it has detected rocket launches from Lebanon, and instrumentality artillery occurrence by Israel.

“This is simply a precise superior concern and we impulse each parties to cease fire,” the unit known arsenic UNIFIL said.

Sirens blared crossed the Golan Heights and Upper Galilee adjacent the Lebanon borderline Friday morning. Hezbollah said successful a connection that it deed “open fields” adjacent Israeli positions successful the disputed Shebaa farms area, with “dozens” of rockets. No casualties were reported.

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Shebaa Farms is an enclave wherever the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet. Israel says it is portion of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria successful 1967. Lebanon and Syria accidental Shebaa Farms beryllium to Lebanon, portion the United Nations says the country is portion of Syria and that Damascus and Israel should negociate its fate.

Israel said astir of the rockets from Lebanon were intercepted by the defence strategy known arsenic the Iron Dome. The remainder landed successful unfastened areas.

Manar TV of Hezbollah says Israeli warplanes are flying astatine low-altitude implicit southeast Lebanon.

That followed uncommon Israeli airstrikes connected Lebanon a time earlier, a marked escalation astatine a politically delicate time. Israel’s caller eight-party governing conjugation is trying to support bid nether a fragile cease-fire that ended an 11-day warfare with Hamas’ militant rulers successful Gaza successful May.

Israel has agelong considered Hezbollah its astir superior and contiguous subject threat. It estimates the radical possesses implicit 130,000 rockets and missiles susceptible of striking anyplace successful Israel. In caller years, it besides has expressed concerns that the radical is trying to import oregon make an arsenal of precision-guided missiles.

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