Truce shaky as Israel strikes Lebanon in response to rocket fire

By Maya Gebeily and Maayan Lubell

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli artillery and airstrikes hit south Lebanon on Saturday after Israel said it had intercepted rockets fired from across the border, endangering a shaky truce that ended a year-long war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

That conflict marked the deadliest spillover of the Gaza war, and a blistering Israeli offensive after months of cross-border exchanges of fire wiped out Hezbollah's top commanders, many of its fighters and much of its arsenal.

Hezbollah denied responsibility for Saturday's strikes, saying it had "no link" to the rocket launches and that it remained committed to the ceasefire. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Israeli official said the identity of the group which fired the rockets had not been confirmed. Six rockets were fired, the official said, three of which crossed into Israel and were intercepted.

Saturday's exchange was the first since Israel in effect abandoned a separate ceasefire in Gaza with Palestinian militant group Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, both backed by Israel's arch-foe Iran.

Israel's military said early on Saturday it had intercepted three rockets launched from a Lebanese district about six km (four miles) north of the border towards the Israeli border town of Metula, the second cross-border launch since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November ended fighting.

In retaliation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to "act forcefully against dozens of terror targets in Lebanon".

Israel's military said it had struck dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command centre from which the group's militants had been operating, in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's state news agency reported Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages in the country's south, including border towns and hilltops around eight km inside Lebanese territory.

Two people were killed and eight wounded by Israeli airstrikes in the south near the border, the state news agency NNA said, quoting Lebanon's health ministry.

There were no reports of casualties in Israel.

In Gaza, health authorities said five Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire, including a child, in incidents in Beit Lahiya and Gaza City in the north of the enclave.

The Israeli military said a number of militants in a vehicle were identified approaching its troops in northern Gaza who "posed a threat to them" and the military struck them.

An Israeli airstrike on the city of Rafah, which abuts Gaza's southern border with Egypt, killed two Palestinians, Gazan medics said. Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UN ALARMED BY BORDER VIOLENCE

Under the November ceasefire deal, Hezbollah was to have no weapons in southern Lebanon, Israeli ground troops were to withdraw and Lebanese army troops were to deploy into the area.

The agreement specifies that Lebanon's government is responsible for dismantling all military infrastructure in southern Lebanon and confiscating all unauthorised arms.

President Joseph Aoun ordered the Lebanese army to secure "any violation" that could threaten stability in Lebanon. The army said it had found and dismantled three "primitive rocket launchers" in the south.

Netanyahu said Israel was holding Lebanon's government responsible for "everything taking place within its territory" and that Israel would not allow any harm to its citizens and sovereignty.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon said it was alarmed by the "volatile" situation and that any further escalation could have "serious consequences for the region."

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned of a renewal of military operations in the south of Lebanon, adding: "All security and military measures must be taken to show that Lebanon decides on matters of war and peace."

The ceasefire ended Israel's intense bombardment and ground operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah's daily rocket barrages into Israel. Each side has accused the other of failing to implement the deal in full.

Israel says Hezbollah still has military infrastructure in the south. Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel is occupying Lebanese land by continuing to carry out some airstrikes and keeping its troops at five hilltop positions near the frontier.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Menna Alaa El Din, Jaidaa Taha and Enas Alashray in Cairo; editing by Tom Hogue, Mark Heinrich and Timothy Heritage)