Man killed in rocket attack on northern Israeli town, Israeli medics say

NAHARIYA, Israel (Reuters) – A 30-year-old man was killed by rocket shrapnel next to a playground in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya on Thursday, Israel’s MDA medical service said.

The Israeli military said about 10 rockets had been launched from Lebanon towards Nahariya. “Most of the projectiles were intercepted and fallen projectiles were identified,” the IDF said in a statement.

Channel 12 said three rockets hit the coastal town.

Air sirens went off in a number of locations across northern Israel during the morning, but it was not immediately clear how many missiles had been launched from Lebanon.

“The Israeli government is not safeguarding my security, my residents or the residents of the north (of Israel). It is not possible to live in such a situation like this,” Nahariya Mayor Ronen Marelly told public broadcaster Kan.

“We are being attacked (by Hezbollah) in a massive way with great force,” he said.

The Israeli military has inflicted huge devastation in Lebanon since it went on the offensive against Hezbollah in September, mounting airstrikes across wide parts of the country and sending in troops.

Thursday’s attacks came as U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who is trying to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the outcome of his latest talks in Beirut.

Hochstein said on Tuesday he had made progress towards clinching a deal, but there was still no indication of when it might be finalised.

Some locals in Nahariya were not confident peace was at hand. “No one is optimistic about anything,” resident Iris Hazan told Kan. “I want to leave this area … We cannot live like this,” she said.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Jonathan Saul, Editing by William Maclean)