A sequence of military exchanges across the border between Lebanon and Israel escalated when Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets, prompting retaliatory strikes in Lebanese territory, according to the Israeli military.

In a statement issued on Friday, the army said ten artillery shells fell on the outskirts of the town of al-Sadana and 30 in Bastra and Kfarshouba, causing a number of fires in the area, according to media reports. Israel fired 40 artillery shells into Lebanon after the country fired rockets into the Jewish state amid rising tension in the region, the army in Beirut said. The army was deployed on the ground trying to restore calm in the region in coordination with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, said the statement.

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group and political party that controls southern Lebanon, right away claimed responsibility for Friday’s assault. Previous rocket attacks in recent weeks were widely blamed on unidentified Palestinian groups.  The escalation, which largely targeted a disputed border strip known as Shebaa Farms, added to concerns that the exchanges, limited so far, risked spilling into open conflict.

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