Projectiles from Lebanon injure 19 in central Israel

Nineteen people in central Israel's Sharon region were injured, the Israeli police said, after the military reported the launch of three projectiles from Lebanon into Israel territory.

The national ambulance service previously reported that seven people in the central Israeli town of Tira were injured.

The Israeli military said that sirens sounded in several areas of central Israel after the projectile launch. Some projectiles had been intercepted, it said.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said later in a statement it had launched drones at a "vital target" in northern Israel. It was not immediately clear if the group's action was related to the injuries.

Fighting in Lebanon has escalated dramatically in recent weeks between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

An eyewitness and resident of Tira said it was a miracle that no one was killed.

"We went out and saw dust, children screaming, women screaming and everyone went to the house that was struck," said Qasim Mohab, a resident of Tira.

Air raid sirens continued to sound in northern Israel as rocket fire from Lebanon continued, the military said.

Fighting has escalated dramatically in recent weeks between Israeli forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, and hopes that a U.S. push for a ceasefire have faded in recent days.

Meanwhile The Israeli army released a video it says shows the airstrike that killed senior Hamas official Izz al-Din Kassab in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Israel described Kassab as one of the last surviving high-ranking members of Hamas responsible for coordinating with other groups in Gaza.

Prospects of a ceasefire between Israel and its foes Hamas and Hezbollah ran aground as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 68 people in the Gaza Strip, according to medics in the Palestinian enclave, and bombed Beirut's southern suburbs.