Hezbollah fires new rocket salvo at Israeli base

BEIRUT

Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it launched a salvo of rockets at an Israeli air control base on Tuesday in retaliation for deadly Israeli strikes on east Lebanon.

Hamas ally Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli army since the Gaza war erupted in October, but strikes have been largely restricted to the border area.

Hezbollah said it targeted the "Meron air control base... with a large salvo of rockets from several launchers".

It said the rocket fire was in response to Israel's first strikes of the war on eastern Lebanon.

Israel struck Hezbollah targets near the city of Baalbek, killing two of its fighters, security sources said. The Israeli army said it targeted Hezbollah air defences after the group downed one of its drones.

In retaliation, Hezbollah already fired 60 rockets at an Israeli base in the annexed Golah Heights on Monday.

Cross-border exchanges since October have killed at least 284 people on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 44 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and six civilians have been killed, according to the Israeli army.