[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]The Israeli military said dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel on Thursday, escalating regional tensions over Israeli police raids on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), 34 rockets were launched from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory, with the majority intercepted but six landing in Israel.
It was the deadliest such attack since a 2006 war between the two countries, which killed approximately 1,200 Lebanese and 165 Israelis.
Social media videos showed rockets streaking through the skies over northern Israel, as well as the sounds of explosions in the distance.
For the first time since 2006, the northern Israeli colonies are under attack by heavy rocket shelling coming from Lebanon. Israeli Iron Dome failed to intercept. How will Israel deal with more sophisticated and powerful Hezbollah missiles in a future war?pic.twitter.com/JXjY76CGVO
— Hadi (@HadiNasrallah) April 6, 2023
Following the barrage, the country closed its northern airspace. There were no casualties, and it is unclear which group in Lebanon launched the rockets.
An unnamed IDF defence official told CNN that Israel would “decide on the place and time” of its response. According to an Israeli military spokesman, the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant group rather than the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Also Read: Violence erupts once more at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque
The Lebanese army confirmed the launch of a number of rockets from the country’s south, but did not specify who fired them. It announced on Twitter that a unit had discovered “missile launchers and a number of rockets intended for launch” near the Lebanese towns of Zibqin and Qlaileh and was “currently working to dismantle them.”
Hezbollah has yet to respond to the incident. It comes a day after Palestinian militant group Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Beirut for talks with Hezbollah officials.
Tensions in the region are at an all-time high after Israeli police stormed the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem twice on Wednesday, as Palestinian worshippers offered prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
Northern #Israel just got hit by a massive rocket attack coming from Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/0TnK2EPVui
— The STRATCOM Bureau (@OSPSF) April 6, 2023
IDF international spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht linked the rocket fire to the two Israeli incursions into the al-Aqsa mosque, saying they had created “very negative energies.”
“The context of the story starts two days ago on Temple Mount with these very, very harsh pictures coming out of the prayer at night,” Hecht said, using the Jewish name for the Jerusalem holy site known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary.
Footage from inside the mosque showed Israeli officers beating people with their batons and rifle-butts, then arresting hundreds of Palestinians. Israeli police said they entered the mosque after “hundreds of rioters” tried to barricade themselves inside.
The incident sparked retaliatory rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, prompting widespread condemnation from the Arab and Muslim world.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told CNN “we are at a very dangerous moment.”
“What we are witnessing on the Lebanese border is obviously a result, a reaction to what we witnessed at al-Aqsa [mosque].” Safadi said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
