Rockets From Lebanon Land in Israel
Hezbollah didn’t do it, but action still raises tensions
September 11, 2009
For only the fourth time this year, and the first time since February, rockets fired from southern Lebanon landed in Israel, prompting an artillery response. This morning, two Katyusha rockets were launched from near the Lebanese port of Tyre, and one of them landed near the Israeli town Nahariya. The Israeli Defense Forces fired artillery shells at the launching site. Neither side reported casualties or significant damage. Though no one has claimed responsibility, the Jerusalem Post reports, and other sources agree, that the perpetrator is likely a small jihadist group, and not Hezbollah.
While the Israel-Lebanon border had seen several months of quiet, the accompanying war of words had not. Israel has accused Hezbollah of re-arming, and even the United Nations has found that the group violated the 2006 ceasefire by maintaining a weapons depot near the border. A spokesperson said today that the IDF “views this incident very severely and we hold the government of Lebanon responsible.”
Rocket Fire From Lebanon Sparks Israel Retaliation [NYT]
Global Jihad Group Likely Behind Katyusha Attack on North [JPost]
Earlier: Hezbollah Broke U.N. Ceasefire
Related: Forbidding Sequel [Tablet]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
