Israel has fired artillery shells into southern Lebanon in retaliation for a roadside bomb attack by terror group Hezbollah.

Israel’s army said the shelling was a response to an explosive device being detonated near its military vehicles patrolling the southern Lebanon Shebaa farming area. The Israeli army did not confirm if the blast caused any casualties.

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Hezbollah members carry the coffin of Samir Kantar on December 21. Photo: Getty

Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, which is allegedly backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the bombing via its TV channel Al-Manar.

The Hezbollah attack is thought to be revenge for an Israeli air strike that may have killed Palestinian Liberation Front commander Samir Kantar, a Lebanese citizen, in the Syrian capital of Damascus on December 20.

Hezbollah, which fights for the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war, had warned of retaliation for the air strike, for which Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility.

The group of militants responsible for the roadside bomb called themselves ‘Samir Kantar’, according to Hezbollah.

At least 10 Israeli shells hit the border town of Al Wazzani, with no reports of serious injury, according to Lebanese and international media.

The Israeli army fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah along the 80-kilometre Israel-Lebanon border in 2006, which eventually spread deep into Lebanon.

The conflict was triggered by a Hezbollah attack on the Israeli side of the border.