BEIRUT

Hezbollah announced on Saturday that its fighters targeted buildings used by Israeli soldiers in northern Israel's Avivim settlement and Hadab Yaron.

Hezbollah fighters fired rockets directly at "buildings used by enemy soldiers in the Avivim settlement," the Lebanon-based group said in a statement on Telegram.

It added that it was a counterattack “in response to the enemy's attacks on the steadfast southern (Lebanese) villages and safe homes, especially in the town of Kfar Kila."

In a separate statement, the group said its fighters targeted the Hadab Yaron site in northern Israel with artillery shells "and hit it directly."

As of yet, Israel has not responded to Hezbollah's statements.

Fears have grown of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,000 people since last October, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala