Two katyusha rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon today, and minutes later Israel returned fire with a barrage of 14 artillery shells of its own.
The rockets that were fired into Israel landed outside residential areas, and no injuries were reported as a result. The return fire from Israel also landed in an unpopulated area resulting in no reported casualties.
Historically, Southern Lebanon has often been the scene of considerable violence between Hizballah and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), but today both sides exercised sufficient restraint to prevent an escalation.
In 2006, a Hizballah border raid into Israel resulted in the IDF responding by bombing targets throughout Lebanon, including residential areas.
After the war was officially ended by UN Resolution 1701, the UNIFIL peacekeeping mandate was expanded and, though often tense, the border between Israel and Lebanon has be relatively quiet ever since.
Hizballah denied any involvement in the rocket attack, and Israeli officials stated that they held the Lebanese government responsible for preventing such attacks.
The UN condemned the attack on Israel, and the IDF has filed a formal complaint with UNIFIL on the matter.
