A launching pad discovered by the Lebanese army in South Lebanon, on April 6, 2023. (Credit: @Lebarmy / Twitter)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army found on Thursday evening the launching pads used to fire dozens of rockets early Thursday afternoon towards Israel, along with unused ammunition, near the villages of Ziqine and Qlaileh, the army said in a statement.
This material "is being dismantled," the army added. Earlier, it had announced patrols in the area from which the rockets were fired, "in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL]."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on the international community to "put pressure on Israel to stop the escalation" at the border.
After a meeting between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, a statement was issued to assure that the country "once again reaffirms its respect of the UN resolution 1701 and on the eagerness of Lebanon for calm and stability in south Lebanon and calls on the international community to pressure Israel to stop the escalation."
"Lebanon is ready to cooperate with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and to take the suitable measures for the restoration of calm and stability and warns against the intention of Israel to escalate which would threaten regional and international peace and security," the statement also said.
The Lebanese Army tweeted that a number of rockets in Qleilat, al-Maliya and Zikkine in the Sour district were fired toward Israel.
"The Lebanese Army is deploying [military] patrols in the area in close cooperation with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon," the Lebanese Army also said in the tweet.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army announced that dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon targeted the north of Israel.
In a tweet, the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote that "34 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israel and 25 of them were intercepted by the Israeli anti-aircraft defense system." Of the nine that were not intercepted, "five landed in Israeli territory while the four remaining are still being searched for."
The rockets were fired a day after a number of Palestinians were beaten by Israeli military in al-Aqsa Mosque during the Islamic month of Ramadan.