Lebanon army says arrested suspects in rocket fire at Israel

BEIRUT

The Lebanese army announced on Wednesday it had arrested several people suspected of firing rockets at Israel from Lebanon, with a security official telling AFP that three Hamas members were among those held.

Despite a Nov. 27 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war, rockets were fired at Israel on March 22 and 28.

No group admitted being behind the attacks, and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group denied any involvement.

However, Hezbollah's Palestinian allies Hamas had claimed to have fired rockets at Israel from Lebanon several times before the ceasefire.

In a statement, the Lebanese army said it had identified "the group responsible" and that it was "composed of Lebanese and Palestinians."

It said it had arrested "several members of the group" while "the search continues to arrest other individuals involved."

The security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Lebanese army intelligence services have arrested three members of Hamas."

Two of those detained were Palestinian and one was Lebanese, the official said, adding that they were arrested in Beirut and south Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.

They are "suspected of being involved in firing rockets at Israel," the official added.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had previously said of the attacks that "Hezbollah is not responsible."

Israel's response to the rocket fire was to bombard Hezbollah's bastion in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 28 for the first time since the November ceasefire began.

Hezbollah was badly weakened by the war and says it is abiding by the ceasefire, despite Israel continuing to target it with regular strikes.

On Wednesday, the health ministry in Beirut said Israeli strikes killed two people in the south, while Israel said it killed two Hezbollah members.

Hezbollah began firing across the border at Israel in October 2023 in solidarity with its ally Hamas after the Gaza war erupted.

Last September the conflict erupted into open warfare, with Israel killing Hezbollah's then leadership and more than 4,000 people.

Meanwhile, Qatar is sending scores of military vehicles to the Lebanese army and a new, $60 million donation to help it pay salaries to officers as the small Mediterranean country recovers from the fighting in Hezbollah’s latest war with Israel, the two Arab countries announced Wednesday.

Gas-rich Qatar has been a main backer of the Lebanese army since an unprecedented economic crisis engulfed the country in late 2019. Qatar was first sending food aid for the military while cash donations began in 2022.