Israel is experiencing the heaviest rocket attacks from Lebanon since 2006.
(Photo: Reuters)
Tel Aviv, Beirut In response to the previous day’s heavy rocket fire, Israel attacked targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip on Friday night. According to the army, Hamas’ “terrorist infrastructure” was its target in the neighboring country. Israel’s military blames the militant Palestinians for dozens of rockets fired at Israel from the neighboring country on Thursday.
Israel’s attacks hit a field near a Palestinian refugee camp, Lebanese security sources said. So far, there is no information about possible victims.
Eyewitnesses to the German Press Agency reported that some houses were damaged in the attacks near the city of Tyros. The explosions in the early hours of the morning caused panic among local residents.
Israel’s army would not “allow the terrorist organization Hamas to operate out of Lebanon.” The Lebanese state bears responsibility for any shelling fired from its territory, the military said in a statement.
“Lebanon vehemently opposes any military escalation emanating from its country, as well as the use of Lebanese territory to conduct operations that may threaten existing stability,” stressed Lebanon’s Acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati. For months, Lebanon has been able to act only to a limited extent without a president and the caretaker government of Mikati. The country is also suffering from a severe economic crisis.
UN peacekeeping mission calls for end to attacks
According to the Israeli army, at least 36 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory on Thursday afternoon – the most since 2006.
The UN peacekeeping mission Unifil asked everyone involved to stop the attacks. “Both sides have said they do not want war,” the organization said in a statement.
The Unifil blue helmets have been monitoring the border area between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. The two countries are officially at war. The last time there was a war between the two sides was in 2006. There were repeated tensions at the border afterwards.
According to UN estimates, more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, spread across twelve camps. Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, has great influence in the refugee camps. It also maintains close ties with the Shiite militia Hezbollah, which is powerful in Lebanon. The organization allied with Iran, which sees Israel as an archenemy, has so far not reacted to the Israeli bombing.
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During the night and in the morning, Israel’s army also flew attacks on the Gaza Strip. According to the army, Israeli fighter jets bombed weapons factories and attack tunnels belonging to the Islamist Hamas, among other things. The military assumes that Hamas or the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad, which is also active in the Gaza Strip, are responsible for the rocket attacks from the neighboring country.
Rocket alert in some Israeli locations
In some Israeli locations in the south there were multiple rocket alarms during the night and in the morning. According to the army, more than 40 missiles were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel during the night. Residents in the region were urged to stay near air raid shelters.
The most recent escalation was preceded by Israeli police clashes with Palestinians on the Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem.
Renewed riots at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
The Temple Mount is under Muslim administration while Israel is responsible for security. The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. However, it is also sacred to Jews because two Jewish temples used to stand there. Violent confrontations are frequent in the area around the mosque.
Because Ramadan, the Jewish Passover festival and Easter are taking place at the same time these days, significantly more believers than usual are drawn to the Old City of Jerusalem. On the third Friday of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, thousands of Muslims were again expected for Friday prayers on the Temple Mount.
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