Lebanon's Hezbollah says it fired dozens of rockets at Israeli military posts

Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday that it had fired dozens of rockets at Israeli military posts and a military factory in northern Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior commander.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier said that about 160 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel.

"Several fell in various locations, causing fires to break out, and a number of projectiles were intercepted," the IDF said in a statement.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since the eruption of the Gaza conflict in October, steadily intensifying hostilities that have fueled concern about a bigger confrontation between the heavily armed adversaries.

The Israeli strike in the south Lebanon village of Jouaiyya late on Tuesday killed three Hezbollah fighters alongside a senior field commander identified by Hezbollah as Taleb Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, three security sources said.

He was the most senior Hezbollah commander killed during eight months of hostilities, one of the sources said.

The sources said he was Hezbollah's commander for the central region of the southern border strip. His funeral is due to be held later on Wednesday.

The group also said it had attacked Israeli military headquarters in Ein Zeitim and Ami'ad and an Israeli military air surveillance station in Meron, in each case firing dozens of Katyusha rockets, according to its statements.

Sirens sounded in northern Israel, where the Israeli military said Hezbollah had fired a barrage of around 50 launches from southern Lebanon into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli strikes have killed some 300 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon – more than it lost in 2006, when the sides last fought a major war, according to a Reuters tally, which puts the number of civilians killed at around 80. Attacks from Lebanon have killed 18 Israeli soldiers and 10 civilians, Israel says.

(With input from Reuters)