IDF scales back search for rocket near Metulla

IDF searches for rocket after Metula residents report hearing explosion; no reports of injuries or damage.

IDF soldier with binoculars 370  (photo credit: REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly)
IDF soldier with binoculars 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly)
The IDF resumed searching on Monday for a rocket in northern Israel, after residents of Metulla, near the Lebanese border, reported hearing a blast and the shriek of a projectile late Sunday night.
Soldiers searched the area for hours after the reports, and continued their efforts on Monday morning, but stopped at 5 p.m. after no traces of a rocket were found.
“Nothing on the ground shows evidence of a projectile blast, but we are continuing our checks,” an army spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post.
One possibility is that the rocket failed to cross the border and fell inside Lebanon.
On Sunday night, Lebanese residents and security forces reported that a rocket was fired from south Lebanon toward Israel, but it was not clear where the rocket landed and there were no immediate reports of damage inside Israel.
Witnesses said that the rocket launch could be heard from the Lebanese town of Marjayoun, about 10 km. from the Israeli border.
The head of the Metulla Regional Council, Herzl Boker, told Ma’ariv that residents heard a projectile shriek past, falling south of Metulla.
“We haven’t opened the bomb shelters, but we are ready,” he said.Reuters contributed to this report.