International
Israel fires back at Lebanon
Two missiles fired from southern Lebanon exploded in northern Israel, prompting the Israeli military to hit back with about 20 artillery shells, an army spokesman said. Tension has spiked on the border between the two countries since Lebanese troops gunned down an Israeli soldier driving near the frontier on Dec. 15.
"The Israeli artillery responded to the Sunday rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from," an army spokesman told news agency Agence France-Presse.
The Katyusha-style rockets landed in a field west of the town of Kyriat Shmona, without causing any casualties or damage, Israeli military radio reported.
Israel's border with Lebanon had been mostly quiet since the 2006 war involving the Shia movement Hezbollah.
The previous time a soldier had been killed there was in August 2010, when two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist also died.
In August, four Israeli soldiers were wounded by an explosion about 400 yards inside Lebanese territory, in a blast claimed by Hezbollah.
One of Hezbollah’s top leaders, Hassan al-Laqis, was killed near Beirut on Dec. 3. The organization blamed Israel for his death – a charge denied by Israel, which warned against any retaliation.
Lebanon’s stability seems to be challenged on multiple fronts. The country on Sunday held a funeral for Mohamad Chatah, the former finance minister, amid rising tensions over who might have killed him.
Security was tightened on Sunday around a mosque in the center of Beirut where prominent figures attended the burial of Chatah, a close aide of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Chatah, a Sunni Muslim who was a vocal critic of Syria and Hezbollah, was killed along with at least seven others in a blast on Friday that shook the capital, Beirut.
He was to be buried next to Saad Hariri's father, the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.
Chatah's assassination is part of an ongoing wave of violence that has been destabilizing the country for years. A civil war waging in neighboring Syria since 2011 has spilled over into multi-faith Lebanon, as different political factions side with opponent parties battling in the neighboring country.
Many believe Chatah's killing was orchestrated by Hezbollah. The assassination comes three weeks before the long-delayed opening of a trial of five Hezbollah suspects indicted for the 2005 bombing that killed Rafik Hariri and 21 other people.
The trial is due to open in The Hague in January.
In an attempt to help deal with increasing instability caused by spillover from war in Syria, Saudi Arabia has pledged $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army to strengthen its capabilities. French President Francois Hollande also said his country would supply weapons to the Lebanese army if it is asked to do so.
Al Jazeera and wire services
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