Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel in retaliation for attacks on Lebanon

Hezbollah has said it had launched dozens of Katyusha rockets at Israel, the latest in a series of attacks it says is in support of the Palestinian people.

The Iran-backed group said on Saturday its latest attack, on Beit Hillel in northern Israel, was in response to Israel's attacks on Kfar Kela and Deir Siriane in Lebanon which, it said, had injured civilians there.

Israeli Channel 14 reported that at least 50 rockets were fired toward the Upper Galilee. Sirens were heard as a result of the launches.

Retaliation

Hamas and Iran have vowed to retaliate for the assassination of the group’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh earlier this week in the Iranian capital of Tehran, while Hezbollah pledged to respond to the killing of its commander, Faud Shukr in Beirut.

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians since October, following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.