UNIFIL soldiers are seen inside a vehicle at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, Lebanon, on April 6, 2023. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday called for calm after new rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)
BEIRUT, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday called for calm after new rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel.
"The UNIFIL head of mission and force commander remains in contact with all parties, and we urge calm at this very sensitive time," said Candice Ardell, deputy director of UNIFIL Media Office, in a statement released by the National News Agency.
On Thursday evening, three new rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into the city of Metula in northern Israel, causing no injuries, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Earlier in the afternoon, 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon, triggering sirens across the Galilee area in northern Israel. Twenty-five rockets were intercepted by Israel's aerial defense systems, while five landed inside Israel, according to the Israeli military.
It was one of the worst rocket attacks at northern Israel since a full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese group in Lebanon, in 2006. Lebanese media reports said Israel shelled southern Lebanon in response.
The incident came hours after Israeli police forces raided for a second consecutive day the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem's Old City, firing gas canisters and stun grenades at Palestinian worshipers.
Israel accused Hamas, a Palestinian armed movement ruling the Gaza Strip, of being behind the rocket attack launched at northern Israel from Lebanon, after Hezbollah denied firing rockets at Israel. ■
UNIFIL soldiers are seen inside a vehicle at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, Lebanon, on April 6, 2023. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday called for calm after new rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)
