to updateIsrael carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and neighboring Lebanon on Thursday and Friday after promising to respond to rocket attacks from Lebanon earlier in the day. According to Israel, Palestinian groups are behind this.
An Israeli army statement said at 4:07 am (local time) that the Israeli army was “currently striking Lebanon”. The bombings targeted facilities belonging to the Palestinian Hamas movement, according to Israel. And the French news agency heard strong explosions in southern Lebanon.
Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening. A Palestinian security source said that several training sites for the Palestinian Hamas movement were targeted there.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced retaliatory measures after 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israeli territory earlier today. Israel says it holds the Lebanese state responsible for that. “We will strike our enemies and they will pay the price for any aggression,” he said. Two people were injured in a missile attack. Israeli media are talking about the largest missile attack from the northern neighbor since 2006.
Most of the missiles were intercepted. At least five rockets fell on Israeli territory, according to the army, stressing that these are preliminary numbers. According to an army spokesman, the Palestinian Hamas movement was responsible. Iranian involvement is also being investigated.
At least one man was injured, according to emergency services. Israel responded by attacking southern Lebanon with artillery fire, Lebanese state media reported.
‘A very dangerous situation’
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement that Lebanon rejects “the use of its territory to carry out operations that destabilize the situation.” UNIFIL, the United Nations mission that monitors the border area in Lebanon, speaks of a very dangerous situation and called for calm.
Earlier in the day, several rockets were fired from the Palestinian Gaza Strip towards Israel, and on Wednesday, the gunfire was back and forth. This came after the occupation police raided Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Dozens were injured and hundreds arrested. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in Beirut that the Palestinians would not be bypassed.
The United States condemned the missile launch and stressed the right of its ally Israel to defend itself. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the missiles from Lebanon. He called on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint”. A number of countries have sounded the alarm in the UN Security Council, and the issue is still being discussed.
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