What We Know So Far
- On Tuesday afternoon, the militant Hezbollah group fired four rockets from Syria, and two exploded in open spaces in Israel-held areas of the Golan Heights.
- In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched a strike on Syrian Army posts after midnight Wednesday.
- Later Wednesday, fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon escalated in a series of attacks along the northern Israeli border.
- A U.N. peacekeeper from Spain was reportedly killed in the fighting near Lebanon.
- Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the Hezbollah missile attack.
Updates
Israeli army confirmed that two of its soldiers were killed in Hezbollah missile attack.
Seven other people were injured, according to Al Jazeera.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the missile fired in Shebaa farms on the border with Syria and Lebanon.
A Hezbollah statement claiming responsibility for the attack said: "11:25am this morning, al-Quneitra Martyr's group targeted an Israeli convoy with specialised heavy duty rockets in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa farms area. The convoy included Israeli artillery, an officer and several soldiers many of whom were injured."
The Ministry of Defense in Spain released the U.N. peacekeeper's name. Corporal Francisco Javier Soria Toledo was 36, and was married with no children.
El cabo Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, de 36 años, casado y sin hijos, estaba destinado en la Brigada "Guzmán el Bueno" X de Córdoba
He was posted to the Guzman el Bueno X Brigade in Cordoba, Spain. The Ministry of Defense's website confirms the brigade was in Lebanon.
The prime minister of Spain tweeted his condolences to the family of the slain U.N. peacekeeper.
Mi más profundo pesar por el fallecimiento del militar español en #Líbano. Mi afecto y condolencias a su familia y compañeros. MR
A U.N. peacekeeper was killed in southern Lebanon in what is likely related to the border clashes.
Andrea Teneti, spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force, said the U.N. is looking into the circumstances of the death, according to the Associated Press.
Teneti did not identify the peacekeeper or disclose this person's nationality, but some media reports suggest he is from Spain.
The Israel Defense Forces launched a strike on Syrian Army posts after midnight Wednesday, a spokesperson for the IDF confirmed.
A statement released by the IDF said the attack was in response to four rockets that were fired from Syria into the Golan Heights.
The IDF also said Israel directly hit Syrian targets.
"The IDF holds the Syrian government accountable for all attacks emanating from its land, and will operate by any means necessary to defend Israeli civilians," the statement read. "Such blatant breaches of Israeli sovereignty will not be tolerated."
On Tuesday afternoon, four rockets were fired from Syria. Two of them reportedly exploded in open spaces in Israel-held areas of the Golan Heights. The IDF said no one was injured by the rockets.
The IDF responded by firing artillery, Haaretz reported. Officials said no artillery was sent to Israeli-controlled areas.
Israeli officials said the rocket attack was most likely a joint effort by Hezbollah and the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which came just days after a series of Israeli airstrikes in Syria that reportedly killed the son of a high-ranking Hezbollah military officer, an Iranian general, and others.
This is a developing story. Please check back here and follow Sheera Frenkel and BuzzFeed News on Twitter for updates.