The Israeli military said Thursday its Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted one of the rockets between the Israeli coastal towns of Acre and Nahariya. Two fell between buildings in Israeli villages, damaging property but causing no injuries. Another appeared to have fallen in an open area.

Capt. Eytan Buchman, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said Israel suspected that the rockets were launched from the village of Qlayleh near Tyre in southern Lebanon by what he described as “global jihadist elements.”

Image Credit The New York Times

“We see this as an unprovoked attack on the Israeli home front,” Captain Buchman said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement that Israel was “acting responsibly” in the realms of defense and prevention and that Israel’s policy was clear. “Anyone who hurts us, anyone who tries to hurt us should know that we will hurt them,” he said.

The Lebanese Army said in a statement that an “unknown group” fired the Katyusha rockets from an area south of Tyre. An army unit searched the area and found four wooden launching pads, the statement said, adding that the army was investigating to find the perpetrators.

Any indication that Hezbollah, the militant Shiite organization in Lebanon, was involved in the latest rocket fire would signal a more serious risk of an escalation of violence. Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets at Israel during a 34-day war in 2006 that left more than 1,000 Lebanese and several dozen Israelis dead. A fragile cease-fire has since prevailed between Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and is now helping the Syrian government fight rebel forces.