Beirut, Oct 13 (IANS) Four Patriot missiles were reportedly launched from Israeli territory, with three of them exploding in the airspace of southern Lebanon and the fourth falling in one of the plains in the area.
The three missiles exploded in Marjeyoun and Khiam, while the fourth fell in Al-Mari town in south Lebanon, Lebanese military sources on Thursday told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.
No injuries were reported.
The sources said they monitored the launching of these missiles from an Iron Dome platform on the southwestern side of the occupied Syrian Golan, noting that no rockets were launched from Lebanon toward Israel.
Sirens sounded in all the Israeli settlements adjacent to the Lebanese border for several minutes, followed by an intense flight of Israeli warplanes along the borderline and over the Lebanese areas of Arqoub and Marjeyoun for about two hours.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the launching of the Patriot missiles in northern Israel was a false alarm.
“An investigation shows that there was no hostile aircraft, and it is a false interception,” the IDF was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying.
The situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border escalated after the firing by Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah on Sunday morning of tens of missiles toward Israeli military sites in support of the Hamas’ attack on Saturday, prompting heavy artillery from the Israeli forces, which targeted several areas in southeast Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Chief of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz said UNIFIL is working on preventing escalation between Lebanon and Israel.
“Our main goal is to help avoid confrontations between Lebanon and Israel, and any event that brings conflict closer is a concern,” he said.
–IANS
int/sha