Rocket War Intensifies

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has been taking rocket fire from both Gaza and Lebanon today.

One rocket struck a gas station in southern Israel, setting it ablaze and leaving one person seriously wounded. To the north, the Lebanese military says three rockets were fired toward Israel and the Israelis retaliated by firing about 25 artillery shells on the area. Lebanese troops and United Nations peacekeepers have been searching the area trying to find out who was behind the attack. No one was wounded on either side.

Southern Lebanon is a stronghold of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which has battled Israel numerous times. However, recent fire from Lebanon has been blamed on radical Palestinian factions in the area and Hezbollah has not been involved in the ongoing offensive. It has largely refrained from engaging Israel since a monthlong war in 2006 when it fired thousands of rockets into Israel and was pummeled by Israeli airstrikes in response.

Gaza militants already have fired more than 550 rockets against Israel in the four-day offensive. Israel's "Iron Dome" defense system has intercepted most of those aimed at major cities but some have slipped through.

Frequent air raid sirens sounded across Israel on Friday, including for the first time in the northern city of Haifa. Israel has shot down at least 110 incoming rockets thus far.
Israel launched the Gaza offensive to stop incessant rocket fire against it. The military says it has hit more than 1,100 targets already, mostly what it identified as rocket-launching sites, bombarding the territory on average every five minutes.