Israeli airstrikes near Beirut retaliate for rocket fire from Lebanon

(JTA) — Israeli airstrikes hit a “ terrorist target” near Beirut in response to rocket fire, the Israeli military said.

Planes bombed the target between the Lebanese capital and Sidon on Thurday night, the Israel Defense Forces said.

According to Lebanon’s Daily Star, the target was a base belonging to the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. The paper said an Israeli missile hit a valley in Naameh, an area some eight miles south of Beirut.

The IDF said it was retaliation for the firing of two rockets earlier that day from Lebanon into Israel. The rockets caused damage to property in two Israeli towns but no one was hurt, according to Army Radio.

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television quoted a spokesman for the Palestinian group as saying there were no casualties or material damage from Israel’s strikes. He said retaliation would come “at the right time.”

Both Hezbollah and the Palestinian group are avowed supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his protracted and bloody war against rebels.

The IDF statement said ultimate responsibility for the incident lay with the Lebanese government for failing to prevent rocket fire into Israel.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said the launching of rockets into Israel was a violation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

The Lebanese president also asked relevant agencies to apprehend the perpetrators behind the attack and refer them to the judiciary, according to the Daily Star.