NAHARIYA, Israel – Around 7am on January 8, rockets fired from southern Lebanon landed in Nahariya in northern Israel.  One landed on the roof of the kitchen in a nursing home, lightly injuring one.  In total three Katyusha rockets were fired and two people were injured.

Israel responded by firing five artillery shells into Lebanon, calling it a “pinpoint response at the source of fire.”  Israeli officials suggested that the rocket strike was an isolated incident and that it would not lead to escalation. “We look at it as a local event, something that was predictable,” Cabinet Minister Isaac Herzog said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the attack and called for the army and the UN to investigate.  A government official said, “Lebanon denounces and condemns the firing of rockets and the retaliatory action and believes that such action is in violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701… We have asked the competent authorities to investigate.”  UN Security Council resolution 1701 outlined the truce ending the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah denied any involvement in the attack and Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri told the AFP news agency he was “assured” by the militant group Hezbollah they were not involved in the rocket attacks.  Rather, it is believed that Palestinians living in Lebanon launched the attack.

Israeli military officials also stated that they believe that Palestinians, not Hezbollah, launched the attack.  However, a statement from Israeli Defense Force’s Northern Command said that Israel “holds the government of Lebanon and the Lebanese armed forces responsible for preventing rocket fire into Israel.”

For more information, please see:

Africasia – Lebanese Government Calls for Probe into Rocket Fire – 8 January 2009

Al Bawaba – Lebanon PM Condemns Rocket Attack on Israel – 8 January 2009

BBC – Rockets Hit Israel from Lebanon – 8 January 2009

International Herald Tribune – 2nd Front? Rockets Land in Israel’s North – 8 January 2009

Jerusalem Post – IDF: Israel Holds Lebanese Gov’t  and Armed Forces Responsible for Rockets – 8 January 2009

New York Times – Rockets Fired from Lebanon into Israel – 8 January 2009

The Telegraph – Israel Hits Back After Lebanese Strike Raises Tension – 8 January 2009

Yedioth – IDF Shells Rocket Launching Sites in Lebanon – 8 January 2009