Two rockets from Lebanon hit Israel, drawing Israeli retaliation

JERUSALEM, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Two rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck Israel, which responded with artillery fire, amid heightened regional tensions over an alleged Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf last week.

Israel’s Magen David Adom national ambulance service said there were no casualties on the Israeli side of the hilly frontier, where the rockets ignited a brush fire.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket strike, launched from an area of south Lebanon under the sway of Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.

In a statement, Israel’s military said three rockets were launched from Lebanon, with one falling short of the Israeli border and the others striking inside Israel. Witnesses in Lebanon also reported that several rockets were fired at Israel.

“In response, (Israeli) artillery forces attacked Lebanese territory,” the military said. Some two hours after the initial shelling, the military said its artillery had fired again at targets, which it did not identify, along the frontier.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said its Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major General Stefano Del Col, was in contact with both parties.

“He urged them to cease fire and to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation, especially on this solemn anniversary,” the statement said, referring to the Beirut port explosion on Aug. 4 last year.