Officials: Several rockets fired from Lebanon toward Israel

Lebanese security officials said several rockets were fired on Wednesday from south Lebanon toward Israel, the third such barrage in the past week.

The Israeli military said it identified four rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. One landed in an open area, two landed in the sea, and one was intercepted by aerial defences. Residents of the city of Shfaram, east of Haifa, said one rocket landed near the town.

The Lebanese officials said the latest rockets were launched from the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Qlayleh, adding that four fell inside Lebanese territory. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

No side has claimed responsibility for the rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday, or earlier in the week.

Israel's army said that it had responded by "striking a number of targets in Lebanese territory," with artillery.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people across the Gaza Strip and destroyed the home of an extended family early Wednesday. Despite growing international pressure for a cease-fire, the military said it widened its strikes on militant targets in the Palestinian territory’s south to blunt continuing rocket fire from Hamas.

Residents surveyed the piles of bricks, concrete and other debris that had once been the home of 40 members of al-Astal family in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. They said a warning missile struck the building five minutes before the airstrike, allowing everyone to escape.

Ahmed al-Astal, a university professor, described a scene of panic before the airstrike hit, with men, women and children racing out of the building. Some of the women didn't even have time to cover their hair with Muslim headscarves, he said.

“We had just gotten down to the street, breathless, when the devastating bombardment came,” he said. “They left nothing but destruction, the children’s cries filling the street. ... This is happening, and there is no one to help us. We ask God to help us.”