Hezbollah said on Saturday it had fired rockets at an army base in northern Israel after the killing of Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri.

"As part of the initial response to the crime of assassinating the great leader Sheikh Saleh al-Aruri ... the Islamic resistance (Hezbollah) targeted the Meron air control base with 62 various types of missiles," the group said in a statement.

After rocket sirens sounded, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that about 40 launches from Lebanese territory toward the area of Meron in northern Israel were identified.

The IDF said that after a short while, it responded with an attack on a cell in Lebanese territory that took part in the launches.