By Deng Yushan
Northern Israel was pounded on Thursday morning by two rockets fired from Lebanon, causing injuries and damage, while few signs were seen indicating a major confrontation across the fragile border.
One of the Katyusha rockets smashed the roof of a nursing home at the northern Israeli town of Nahariya and exploded in its kitchen, when about 25 elderly residents were eating breakfast in the adjacent dining hall, reported local daily The Jerusalem Post.
Two people were injured when hurrying to take shelter, and several others were also hospitalized for hysteria, said the report.
The other rocket landed near the northernmost Israeli coastal town, a popular tourist destination located some 10 km south of the Israel-Lebanon border, causing no injury.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) immediately fired retaliatory shells at the launching sites. Local daily Ha'aretz quoted a military spokesman as saying that the IDF staged "a pinpoint response at the source of fire."
Shortly before noon, air raid sirens sounded again and blasts were heard across Nahariya, and two more rocket attacks were reported. Yet local authorities later refuted the report, saying that the explosions were caused by sonic booms.
Amid fears for new attacks, Israeli authorities have instructed local residents to stay near the rocket-proof shelters, and schools have been cancelled.
On the other side of the border, Israeli warplanes intensified patrol over the western sector of southern Lebanon, and schools in southern Lebanese towns were also closed.
The rocket fire marked the first anti-Israel barrage originated in Lebanon since the Jewish state launched on Dec. 27 its offensive against Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on its south, triggering speculations that Israel might have to open a second front.
However, the Lebanese government swiftly condemned the incident, and said that it was trying to find out who was behind the attack, in which Hezbollah also denied involvement.
Investigation by the IDF is underway. Initial assessments indicated that the salvo might be fired by Palestinian groups in Lebanon, though it is still not clear whether Hezbollah has told them to fire.
"The rocket fire... was carried out by Palestinian elements in Lebanon, wishing to drag Israel into war," a military spokesman was quoted as saying, while stressing that "Israel holds the Lebanese government and its army responsible for thwarting any fire on Israel."
While carrying out a blistering offensive in Gaza against Palestinian militants, the Jewish state also put troops and police on high alert in the north, amid fears for attacks from Hezbollah. Israel has warned the group that should it ignite a second front, Israel would retaliate massively.
Despite its defiant remarks, the movement has followed the stand of the Lebanese cabinet which is keen on sparing Lebanon from any escalation with Israel. A 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 left over a thousand people dead and a million displaced.
Late last month, several rockets were discovered in southern Lebanon aimed at Israel and primed to fire, prompting UN peacekeepers and Lebanese troops to step up patrols along the border with Israel.
Meanwhile, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed along the border to observe the truce reached after the 2006 war, has also been put on high alert and intensified patrol and security control across the area.
The barrage in the north came as rocket attacks from Gaza continued in the south on Thursday, causing injuries. Israel vowed to end the rocket fire and restore quiet to its southern land by the ongoing operation.
Under mounting pressure from the international community, an Israeli delegation meet with Egyptian officials on Thursday for discussions on a possible Gaza ceasefire, while the Jewish state pushed ahead with the so-called Operation Cast Lead for the 13th day.
Some 700 people have been killed and some 3,000 others wounded so far in the Palestinian enclave, and the death toll is still rising. 11 have died on the Israeli side, including four killed in rocket attacks from Gaza and four killed by friendly fire in the battlefield.
(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2009)