Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese organisation, announced on Sunday that it had launched “large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles” at Israeli positions in a disputed border region, amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Palestinians.
Hezbollah stated that its assault was carried out “in solidarity” with the extensive air, sea, and land attack launched by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel on Saturday, a conflict that resulted in hundreds of casualties on both sides.
“The Islamic resistance (Hezbollah)… attacked three positions of the Zionist enemy in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa farms… with large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles,” the Lebanese Shiite movement said in a statement.
Residents living near the Lebanese border told media that they had heard approximately a dozen rockets being launched towards Israel in the morning.
A photojournalist reported that Israeli surveillance drones flew over the border region.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army stated that it had fired artillery into southern Lebanon in response to a shot originating from that area.
“Israeli artillery is in the process of striking the area of Lebanon from which a shot was fired,” the army said in a statement, without giving further details.
Later on Sunday morning, two additional rockets were launched from the Lebanese side towards enemy positions in the Shebaa farms. In response, Israel retaliated with a new barrage of artillery, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
Israel warned Hezbollah against being involved in the fighting.
“We recommend Hezbollah not to come into this. If they come we are ready,” army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), responsible for maintaining peace and security in the region, called for restraint amid the escalating tensions.
“We are in contact with authorities on both sides… to contain the situation and avoid a more serious escalation,” it said in a statement on Sunday.
There are 13 points of contention along the Blue Line, which is the boundary established by the United Nations in 2000 after Israeli forces pulled out of southern Lebanon.
In 2006, Hezbollah and Israel engaged in a 34-day war, resulting in over 1,200 casualties in Lebanon, primarily civilians, and 160 in Israel, mainly soldiers. Despite the cessation of hostilities, both nations remain in a state of technical war.
Hezbollah expressed support for Hamas’ “heroic operation” on Saturday and indicated that its leadership was closely monitoring the situation and maintaining direct contact with the Palestinian resistance leadership, both domestically and internationally.
