Israeli strikes trigger large smoke clouds in southern Lebanon amid cross-border fire

Israeli artillery and airstrikes hit southern Lebanon on Saturday (March 22) after Israel said it had intercepted rockets fired from across the border, endangering a shaky truce that ended a year-long war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, Reuters reports.

That conflict marked the deadliest spillover of the Gaza war, rumbling across the border for months before escalating into a blistering Israeli offensive that wiped out Hezbollah's top commanders, many of its fighters and much of its arsenal.

The Israeli military said in a statement it was bombing Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon.

Lebanon's state news agency reported a spate of Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages in the country's war-battered south, including border towns and hilltops around 8 km (5 miles) inside Lebanese territory.

Saturday's exchange was the first since Israel effectively abandoned a separate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with Palestinian militant group Hamas, an ally of Hezbollah, both backed by Israel's arch-foe Iran.