IDF downs three terror rockets fired from Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force intercepted three rockets that terrorists in Lebanon fired at the Galilee town of Metula on Saturday morning.

Two additional rockets fell short and did not cross into Israeli territory.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and no changes to IDF Home Front Command directives for civilians.

The IDF responded with artillery fire toward the site of the launches in Southern Lebanon.

Following the attack, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir conducted a situational assessment.

It was the first rocket fire from Lebanon since a Nov. 27 ceasefire ended more than a year of war with Hezbollah, which opened a front against Israel in support of Hamas the day after the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

“We will not allow a reality of fire from Lebanon on Galilee communities. We have promised security and that is exactly what will happen,” said Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday.

“The fate of Metula is the same as Beirut,” he added. “The Lebanese government bears responsibility for fire from its territory.”

The IDF has intermittently targeted Hezbollah terrorists and assets in Lebanon since the truce formally expired on Feb. 18.

On Thursday, the military struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in Southern Lebanon and underground infrastructure belonging to the Iranian proxy in the Land of the Cedars’ Beqaa Valley.

“The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel and prevent any attempt by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to rebuild its forces,” the military said at the time.

On Sunday, the IDF struck a command-and-control center in Southern Lebanon used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. Earlier in the day, the IDF confirmed that a parked vehicle near the Avivim border moshav had been hit by gunfire likely from Lebanon. No injuries were reported.

Last week, Katz confirmed that Israeli troops will remain at five strategic outposts in Southern Lebanon “indefinitely.” The five outposts are located at a hill near Labbouneh, opposite the Israeli border town of Shlomi; on the Jabal Blat peak, opposite Moshav Zar’it; on a hill opposite Moshav Avivim and Kibbutz Malkia; on a hill opposite Moshav Margaliot; and on a hill opposite the town of Metula.

On March 11, Israel and Lebanon initiated negotiations toward settling the border disputes between the countries. Representatives of the IDF, the United States, France and Lebanon agreed during a meeting in Naqoura in southwestern Lebanon to establish three joint working groups aimed at stabilizing the region.

The working groups will focus on three main issues: The five strategic points in Southern Lebanon that remain under Israeli control following the expiration of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire; the U.N.-delineated Blue Line border and the 13 territorial disputes between the two countries; and the status of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.

© JNS