struck Lebanon on Saturday in retaliation for rockets targeting Israel, killing two, including a child, in the heaviest exchange of fire since the ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Earlier, rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, for the second time since December, sparking concern about whether the fragile ceasefire would hold. A Hezbollah official told

 

The Associated Press on Saturday that it was not responsible for the attack, calling it “primitive,” speaking on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media. Israel had said that it would respond “severely” to the attack from Lebanon early on Saturday morning, when rockets were fired into northern Israel. Israel’s army said the intercepted rockets targeted the Israeli town of Metula. Lebanon’s Health Ministry saidSaturday that the strikein the southern village of Touline killed also woundedeight others. Hezbollah began launchingrockets, drones andmissiles into Israel the day afterHamas’ October 7, 2023attack out of Gaza ignited thewar there.

 

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into an all-out warin September as Israel carriedout massive waves of airstrikesand killed most of the militantgroup’s senior leaders. The fighting killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displacedabout 60,000 Israelis. Under the ceasefire reached in November, Israeli forces weresupposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by lateJanuary. The deadline wasthen extended to February 18 byagreement between Lebanonand Israel.