[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]JERUSALEM: Israel’s military struck targets in Lebanon and Gaza early Friday in retaliation for rocket attacks blamed on Hamas, as tensions escalated following police raids this week on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
Loud explosions rang out across Gaza as Israel claimed its jets hit 10 Hamas targets, “including tunnels and weapons manufacturing and development sites.” Hamas controls the blockaded southern coastal strip.
At around 4 a.m., the military said it had also struck three Hamas infrastructure targets in southern Lebanon, where residents near the Rashidiyeh refugee camp near Tyre reported three loud explosions.
“We strongly condemn the blatant Zionist aggression against Lebanon near Tyre this morning,” Hamas said.
According to two Lebanese security sources, the strike hit a small structure on farmland near where the rockets were launched earlier.
According to Reuters witnesses, the strike appeared to have left a large crater in farmland in the south.
Also Read: Dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel: report
On Friday morning, a member of Lebanon’s Civil Defense said there were no casualties.
The strikes followed rocket attacks from Lebanon on northern Israeli areas, which Israeli officials blamed on Hamas. According to the military, 34 rockets were launched from Lebanon, 25 of which were intercepted by air defence systems. It was the largest such attack since Israel’s war with the heavily armed Hezbollah movement in 2006.
“Israel’s response tonight and tomorrow will exact a significant price from our adversaries,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after a security cabinet meeting.
As Israeli planes bombed Gaza, rockets were allegedly fired in retaliation, and sirens were heard in Israeli towns and cities along the border. However, no serious injuries were reported, and only one rocket struck a target, damaging a house in the southern town of Sderot.
The cross-border strikes came amid an escalating conflict over Israeli police raids on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem during Ramazan, the Muslim holy month that coincides with the Jewish Passover holiday this year.
Also Read: Iron Dome intercepts rockets fired from southern Lebanon into Israel.
“We hold the Zionist occupation fully responsible for the grave escalation and flagrant aggression against the Gaza Strip, as well as the consequences for the region,” Hamas said in a statement.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, issued a statement condemning any military operations from its territory that threatened stability, but Hezbollah did not respond immediately. Prior to the rocket launch, senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine warned that any violation of Al-Aqsa “will inflame the entire region.”
UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, said it had been in contact with the parties and that both sides had stated that they did not want to go to war, but that the situation was risking escalation and urged all parties to halt their actions.
According to an Israeli military spokesman, the Israeli operation is currently over. He told reporters, “Nobody wants an escalation right now.” “At this point, I believe quiet will be answered with quiet, at least in the coming hours.”
US condemns rocket attacks
The US State Department condemned Lebanon’s rocket launch and earlier Gaza strikes, saying Israel had the right to defend itself.
It did, however, express concern about the scenes at the Al-Aqsa mosque, where Israeli police were filmed beating worshippers during raids that officials claimed were intended to “dislodge groups of young men who had barricaded themselves inside the mosque.”
Hundreds of thousands of people pray at the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City during Ramadan. The location of the two biblical Jewish temples, known to Jews as Temple Mount, is also Judaism’s most sacred site.
It has long been a source of contention. Clashes there in 2021 contributed to a 10-day war between Israel and Gaza.
Also Read: Israeli forces attack worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque raid
The Israeli police actions have sparked widespread rage among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as well as condemnation from across the Arab world.
Police said late Thursday that there were also disturbances in a number of Arab cities in Israel, including Umm el-Fahem, Sakhnin, and Nazareth.
Plumes of smoke
The deteriorating security situation complicates matters for Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist government, which has faced mass protests over its now-suspended plans to limit the Supreme Court’s powers.
Following the rocket attack, opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government could count on cross-party support, while Netanyahu said Israelis supported the security forces.
“The internal Israeli debate will not prevent us from acting against them wherever and whenever it is necessary. We are all in agreement on this, without exception “According to Netanyahu.
Following the rocket attack on Thursday, TV footage showed large plumes of smoke rising above the northern Israeli border town of Shlomi, as well as wrecked cars in the streets. The Israel Airports Authority announced the closure of the northern airports in Haifa and Rosh Pina.
“I’m shaking, I’m in shock,” Liat Berkovitch Kravitz said from a fortified room in her Shlomi home to Israel’s Channel 12 news. “I heard a boom, as if something exploded inside the room.”
According to the Israeli military, mortar shells were also fired across the border.
Fearing that the conflict would escalate further after a year of rising Israeli-Palestinian violence, the UN Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the crisis.
On his way into the meeting, US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood told reporters, “It’s going to be important for everyone to do what they can to calm tensions.”
The attack on Thursday came after a series of rocket launches from Gaza, the majority of which were intercepted. Israel responded to the launches with airstrikes on Hamas targets, which it holds accountable for any attacks launched from the blockaded coastal strip.
Speaking from Gaza, Mohammad Al-Braim, spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, praised the rocket attacks from Lebanon, which he linked to the Al-Aqsa attacks, but denied responsibility.
“No Arab or Muslim would remain silent while (Al-Aqsa) is being raided in such a savage and barbaric manner without the enemy paying the price for its aggression,” he said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
