Israel retaliates, shells Lebanon after rocket fire

[SolusInAeternum2]

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel's military fired at least a dozen artillery shells into southern Lebanon on Friday shortly after a rocket attack on northern Israel, according to the Israeli military and a Lebanese army official.

There have been no reports of casualties in either incident.

Rockets fired from Lebanon struck open spaces in the western Galilee region of northern Israel, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. There were no reports of damage.

Israel retaliated by firing between 12 and 18 artillery shells toward the source of the rocket fire, the IDF spokesman said. The shells landed near the southern Lebanese village of Qlayleh around 3 p.m. (8 a.m. ET), a Lebanese army official said.

The IDF spokesman said the Israeli military considers the rocket fire incident to be serious and holds Lebanon's government and military responsible.

Israel Radio reported one rocket struck near the northern town of Nahariya and another landed near Gesher Haziv, a kibbutz, or collective community.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said residents near Nahariya heard several explosions, and the remnants of at least one rocket were found.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. A spokeswoman for the United Nations mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said it will issue a statement as soon as it has details about the incident.

There are an estimated 30,000 rockets in southern Lebanon, all under the control of Hezbollah militants.

Israel fought a war against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon three years ago that is widely regarded as having empowered the Shiite militia.