BEIRUT, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Hezbollah group said in a statement on Thursday that it fired rockets at northern Israel in response to Israel's "ceasefire violations."

"This response will continue until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases," the group said in a statement.

Israel carried out its heaviest strikes across Lebanon since the current round of conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, killing at least 254 people and injuring 1,165 others on Wednesday, hours after a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire was announced. Both Israel and the United States have maintained that Lebanon is not included in the truce.

Israel's military said Wednesday's attack was its largest coordinated strike on Lebanon since it started a new military operation against the country on March 2, "targeting more than 100 Hezbollah command centers and military sites."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the attack, calling the casualty figures appalling.

"The scale of the killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific," he said in a statement. "Such carnage, within hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief. It places enormous pressure on a fragile peace, which is so desperately needed by civilians." ■