New rocket attacks strike northern Israel

Israel faced attack on a second front today when at least three rockets were fired into the country from Lebanon.

There were no serious injuries, but the rockets in Israel’s north raised the spectre of renewed hostilities with Hezbollah, less than three years after the guerrilla group fought the country to a stalemate. Hezbollah started the 2006 war as Israel was battling Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Lebanon’s government, wary of conflict, quickly condemned the rocket fire and said it was trying to determine who was behind the attack. Israel fired mortar shells into southern Lebanon in response.

Meanwhile in new Gaza fighting Israel killed at five people, including four militants, raising the death toll from its 13-day offensive to nearly 700 people. With roughly half the dead believed to be civilians, international efforts to broker a cease-fire have been gaining steam.

Israel has repeatedly said it was prepared for a possible attack on the north since it launched its campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza on December 27. It has mobilised thousands of reserve troops and leaders have warned Hezbollah of dire consequences if it enters the fighting.

In Beirut, the prime minister condemned the rocket fire, and Israeli response. The government said it was trying to determine who fired the rockets and stressed it was committed to peace.

Shortly after the first rockets fell around Nahariya, Lebanese TV stations reported Israeli mortar fire on open areas in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military confirmed it carried out “pinpoint fire” in response without elaborating.

Israeli defence commentators said they expected the incident to be a one-time show of solidarity with the Palestinians, not a declaration of war.

Earlier, Palestinians reported more than 20 airstrikes around Gaza City before dawn. One militant was killed and 10 wounded.

An airstrike in northern Gaza killed three members of a rocket-launching cell, Palestinian medical officials said. The attack took place about 150 metres from a hospital and wounded 12 bystanders.

The Israeli army has repeatedly said militants use civilian areas for cover.

Israel resumed its Gaza offensive yesterday after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid through Israeli-controlled border crossings.

Despite the heavy fighting, strides appeared to being made on the diplomatic front with the US throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt.

While the UN Security Council failed to reach agreement on a ceasefire resolution, Egypt’s UN Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz said representatives of Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority agreed to meet separately with Egyptian officials in Cairo.

Adding to the diplomatic activity, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority had accepted the ceasefire deal, but he made no mention of Hamas, without whom no truce could work.

The Palestinian Authority controls only the West Bank while Hamas rules Gaza - two territories on opposite sides of Israel that are supposed to make up a future Palestinian state. Hamas took control of Gaza from forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007.

For its part, Hamas said it would not accept a truce deal unless it includes an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza – something Israel says it is not willing to do. Israel and Egypt have maintained a stiff economic embargo on Gaza since the Hamas takeover.