Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Palestinian group Hamas, which is involved in a war with Israeli forces in Gaza, said its militants in southern Lebanon had launched rockets towards Israel, in a new escalation along the border.

A second Islamist group announced the launch of a rocket into northern Israel, while the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement – an ally of Hamas – said it had shot down an Israeli drone over Israeli territory using a surface-to-air missile.

Cross-border exchanges have become an almost daily occurrence since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants overran southern Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

Israel responded with relentless bombardment of Gaza, which the Hamas health ministry says has killed more than 8,000 people, most of them civilians.

The Israeli army on Sunday reported launches from Lebanon that it said targeted areas near the border.

Israeli troops returned fire in the direction of the launch, the military added. Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli air force carried out several attacks on southern Lebanese cities.

Hamas’ military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters in Lebanon had launched 16 rockets at Nahariya, a coastal town in Israel’s Galilee region, “in response to the (Israeli) occupation’s crimes against our people in Gaza”.

The Islamic group’s armed branch Jemaah Islamiah also said it had fired “targeted rockets” at the Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona.

The Hezbollah group said it had targeted several Israeli army positions, and also announced the death of one of its fighters on Sunday.

According to calculations AFPsince October 7, cross-border violence has killed at least 59 people in Lebanon.

Most were Hezbollah fighters, although there were four civilians among the victims, including one journalist.

Israeli officials have reported four deaths, including one civilian.

There are concerns that if Hezbollah launches its own war with Israel, the conflict could spread to a wider region.

According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 29,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Lebanon as a result of the clashes.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(luc/luc)