TIBERIAS, Oct 12 — The Israeli army said yesterday an “error” was behind reports of a suspected “aerial infiltration” from Lebanon, and that a rocket alert in the north was due to a launch from Gaza.
“There are no launches at this point from Lebanon. There are no alerts,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
“This has been an error that we are looking into... We will check whether it’s a technical malfunction or a human error.”
Earlier sirens were activated in cities and towns across Israel’s northern border.
In a statement, the army said: “Following the reports regarding an infiltration into Israeli air space from Lebanon, as of right now, a suspected infiltration has been ruled out.”
The army’s Home Front Command had asked residents of border communities in the Galilee and annexed Golan Heights as well as the Haifa area to shelter “until further notice” fearing a “large-scale attack”.
An AFP team was in the city of Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, when the news broke out and immediately took shelter.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said its forces had fired rockets at Haifa, a major coastal city in Israel’s north.
In its latest statement, the army said that following rocket alerts in areas near Haifa about 130 kilometres north of Gaza, “a rocket launch was identified from the Gaza Strip”.
As fighting continues between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, on Israel’s southern border, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said earlier Wednesday it had fired missiles at Israel.
The Israeli military said it had responded with by striking one of the group’s military observation posts in southern Lebanon.
Israel also exchanged fire with militants in Syria on Tuesday after the army said munitions were fired towards the Golan Heights. — AFP
