Projectiles fired from Lebanon toward Israel: army

JERUSALEM, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel's army said that about 45 projectiles were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Thursday, amid an escalation of an eight-month-long cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

It was the second consecutive day that Hezbollah fired heavy barrages of rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed one of its senior commanders.

Two people were lightly injured by shrapnel, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service.

The Israeli military said in a statement that about 40 rockets and missiles, in addition to five drones, were launched from Lebanon since morning, targeting the Galilee and the annexed Golan Heights.

The army said the Israeli aerial defense systems intercepted three drones and "several" projectiles.

However, others hit agricultural lands and open fields, sparking fires. Israel's National Fire and Rescue Authority said major fires broke out in 15 locations. Footage on the state-owned Kan TV news showed civilians using water hoses to extinguish small fires.

Local councils in the region reported damage to buildings in the Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee. Schools in the city of Safed in the Upper Galilee and communities in the Golan Heights were closed down.

Hezbollah sources claimed about 100 projectiles were fired, according to a report on Kan TV news.

Meanwhile, Israel was carrying out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, saying it targeted the launch sites of the projectiles.