Hezbollah, in first announced attack since Israeli strikes, fires rockets at Israel

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it targeted the northern Israeli town of Safed on Friday, in its first attack after Israeli strikes hit what Israel said what the group’s south Beirut stronghold, levelling six buildings.

Hezbollah fighters launched “rocket salvos” at Safed “in defense of Lebanon and its people, and in response to Israeli” attacks on civilians, the group said in a statement.

The Israeli military reported a “direct hit” by a Hezbollah rocket on a house and a car in the northern Israeli town of Safed on Friday evening, as cross-border strikes continued.

“A direct hit from a Hezbollah rocket was identified in (Safed),” a statement said, while Israel’s emergency medical service Magen David Adom said it was en route to the scene.

Israeli police said “no injuries have been reported, but significant property damage has occurred,” adding that “police officers and bomb disposal units are currently working to isolate the impact sites.”