Hezbollah and Hamas claim attacks on Israel from Lebanon, threatening new front in war
- Hamas launched a salvo of rockets from south Lebanon towards Israel, prompting Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions
- Hamas militants launched an unprecedented multi-pronged attack on Israel’s southern flank from Gaza on the weekend
The Palestinian Hamas group has claimed a rocket attack and the Lebanese group Hezbollah exchanged fire with Israel in a third day of violence at the border that has opened up a new front for Israel as it battles Hamas militants in Gaza.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a guided missile at an Israeli tank on Tuesday, the group said in a statement, and Israel said it responded by striking an observation post belonging to the Iran-backed group.
The violence, triggered by the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, marks the most serious escalation along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Israeli army said no injuries were reported in Tuesday’s attack by Hezbollah, three of whose fighters were killed on Monday in Israeli shelling into Lebanon.
A salvo of rockets was also fired from Lebanon into Israel on Tuesday, in an attack a security source in Lebanon said was carried out by Palestinian factions. That attack was claimed by Hamas.