Armed groups in Lebanon fired a barrage of heavy rockets at Israel on Thursday in an unusual and massive escalation that prompted the Israeli military to retaliate early Friday by targeting Palestinian militias in Gaza. , which Israel blamed for staging the rocket fire.
Missile attack from Lebanon appears to be in response to an Israeli attack police raid on a mosque early Wednesday at a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem. The attack sparked widespread anger among Palestinians and an earlier rocket explosion from the Gaza Strip.
The police action and outbreak of hostilities come as Jews begin to celebrate Passover and Muslims are in the middle of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Military experts said Thursday’s attack was the heaviest in northern Israel since 2006, when Israel and Hezbollah fought an all-out war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met senior ministers and military leaders to discuss how to respond.
Amid fears of a larger fire, city council leaders across Israel announced that they were opening public bomb shelters, in case further missile fires.
“Our enemies must not misjudge us,” Netanyahu said in a video statement before Israeli warplanes hit sites in Gaza. “We will attack our enemies and they will pay the price for any aggression,” he said.
According to the Israeli military, at least 34 rockets were fired during the rocket attack from Lebanon, of which 25 were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems and six fell on Israeli territory. Hours later, Lebanese media then reported a second brief explosion over northeastern Israel.
An Israeli military spokesman said it suspected that affiliates of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the two main Gaza militias also present in Lebanon, were involved in the rocket fire from Lebanon. The Israeli military also said it believed the militias acted with knowledge of Hezbollah, the militia and political movement that dominates southern Lebanon.
No group – all backed by Iran – has claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for Hamas declined to comment, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad did not respond to a request for comment, while a media outlet run by Hezbollah said the source of the rocket was unknown.
Israel-Palestinian violence on the rise
A recent spate of violence in Israel and the West Bank has raised concerns that tensions could escalate further.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose government has limited influence over southern Lebanon, condemned the rocket fire.
The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, visited Lebanon this week, fueling speculation about the group’s involvement in the rocket launch. Following Thursday’s attack, its spokesman continued to condemn Wednesday’s Israeli raid on the Aqsa mosque complex, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The attack from Lebanon further complicated the already volatile security situation in the region. It comes amid rising tensions in Jerusalem, Unusually high violence in the Occupied West Bankand divisions in the Israeli military over a controversial Israeli government plan to overhaul the country’s justice system.
It also comes after weeks of escalation along the Israel-Lebanon border.
In a blatantly unusual operation last month, a man whom officials say may have ties to Hezbollah illegally crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel and put a bomb next to the Israeli highway. The attack left an Israeli citizen seriously injured.
Thursday’s attack caught the Israelis by surprise.
Israel has a long history of conflict with Lebanese groups, occupying southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000, and briefly invading again during the 2006 war. , while the occasional armed groups firing rockets from Lebanon at Israelthey used to be much smaller booms and often far away from towns and cities.
Two of the rockets fired on Thursday landed in densely populated areas, creating large plumes of smoke. Echoes and shrapnel shattered several windows, and a rocket hit a warehouse. According to an emergency medical team, Magen David Adom, several people inside Israel were injured, including one with shrapnel.
The United Nations peacekeeping force operating along the border, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, described the situation as “extremely serious” and said it was in contact with authorities in both countries. two countries.
The Israeli military denied Lebanese reports that Israel responded with cross-border artillery fire.
Israeli frequent strikes Hezbollah-affiliated targets in Syria, where Hezbollah forces are involved in the Syrian war. But confrontations on the Israel-Lebanon border have been relatively controlled over the past decade.
Fears of a larger battle have grown in recent weeks following the roadside bombing.
The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, recently said that he believes Israel is on the brink of collapse, referring to the domestic political crisis over the proposed judicial overhaul that has long exacerbated . division in Israeli society.
The judicial crisis led Mr. Netanyahu to fire his defense minister, Yoav Gallant – in name at least – after the minister called for the overhaul to be halted because it had caused anger in the ministries. part of the armed forces, jeopardizing the combat readiness of the Israeli military. But Mr Netanyahu never sent Mr Gallant an official letter confirming his dismissal, meaning he remained in office.
“As we have always predicted, the great Israel has fallen,” Nasrallah said in a speech last month. “There is no trust in the military, political leaders or military leaders.”
But Mr. Netanyahu said on Thursday night that Israelis remained united in the face of external enemies. “Internal quarrels within Israel will not prevent us from taking action against them wherever and whenever necessary,” he said.
People close to Hezbollah said the group was also angered by the Israeli raid on the Aqsa mosque in which more than 350 Palestinians were arrested.
Israeli police said it was a necessary operation to prevent troublemakers from preventing Jewish tourists from entering the site. Muslims consider it an unprovoked attack on Muslim worshipers during Islam’s holiest month.
“Aqsa is a red line for all Muslims,” said Kassem Kassir, a political analyst close to Hezbollah. “The missile attack is a message to Israel that we will not be silent about this escalation.” And he issued a warning: “If the escalation continues, 20 missiles could become 1,000 in the coming days.”
Reporting contributed by Hiba Yazbek of Jerusalem; Hwaida Saad in Beirut, Lebanon; Gabby Sobelman of Rehovot, Israel; and Farnaz Fassihi in New York.
