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The Katyhushas were fired from the eastern part of southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese police. At least two people on the Israeli side were lightly injured and a few more were treated for shock.

There was immediate claim of responsibility for the rockets from any Lebanese militant group. A military spokeswoman said the Israeli army fired at the rocket launching area in south Lebanon. She would not what type of weaponry the army used.

Residents of the Israeli coastal city of Nahariya, a few kilometres south of the border with Lebanon, were ordered to remain close to protected rooms.

The Katyusha's striking Israel marked the first rockets fired at northern Israel since  Israel began a offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on December 27.

The shells of the Israeli counterstrike fell near the hills at the edges of the village of Marwaheen, located close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, Lebanese security sources said.

Lebanese sources ruled out that Hezbollah might have fired the Katyusha but said some hardline Palestinian guerrillas might have been the attack.

It was unclear whether Thursday morning's rocket fire was an isolated incident, or whether it marked the opening of another front in the violence between Israel and Islamic militants.//dpa