Lebanon rocket fire kills two in Israel

Rocket fire from Lebanon on Tuesday killed two residents of the northern Israeli city of Nahariya, the municipality said.

This is "a difficult and painful evening in Nahariya", the municipality said in a statement, naming the two men as Ziv Belfer, 52, and Shimon Najam, 54.

"The two were pronounced dead on the spot, near a warehouse that received a direct hit," it added.

AFP images showed black smoke rising from a fire in the warehouse.

Dor Vakinin, a first responder at the scene following the attack, said emergency teams arrived "quickly" to provide assistance.

"There was a lot of destruction and an active fire," he said.

"We performed medical examinations on two men who were lying unconscious and suffering from severe injuries to their bodies. Unfortunately their injuries were too severe and after the examinations, we had to determine the death of both of them."

The Israeli military said a barrage of 10 rockets was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, some of which were intercepted, while "others fell in the area".

It said sirens had sounded in central Israel, including in Tel Aviv and at Ben Gurion airport. Three projectiles that crossed from Lebanon were intercepted, it said.

Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it had fired missiles at an Israeli air base south of Tel Aviv.

The rocket fire came as Israel again pounded Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut and south Lebanon, the military said.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since Hamas militants from Gaza carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The fighting has escalated since Israel launched an air and ground offensive against Hezbollah in September.