This is Israel’s response to rocket fire. Hezbollah pledges its “unreserved support” to Palestinian groups
Israel has been attacked with rockets from Lebanon. The military said there were air alerts in several places in northern Israel. According to the army in the afternoon, at least 34 rockets were fired into Israeli territory from the neighboring country. According to Israeli media reports, this was the heaviest shelling from Lebanon since 2006. Israel responded with counterattacks.
According to the army, the national missile defense system Iron Dome has intercepted 25 missiles. Five rockets landed in Israeli territory. The whereabouts of four others are being checked. Israel and Lebanon are officially at war. There is always tension at the border. It was unclear which group was behind the attacks. Lebanese security circles said that most of the flying objects were so-called Katyusha rockets. They are mainly used by Palestinian groups. According to the Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom, at least two people in northern Israel were slightly injured.
In response, Israel bombed Lebanon. Lebanese security circles said artillery shells had landed in the south. The Israeli army fired “several grenades from their positions on the border” at southern Lebanon, the Lebanese news agency ANI said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a security cabinet meeting for the evening. Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced a meeting with senior officials.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to his spokesman, “condemned the numerous rockets fired from Lebanon at northern Israel today” and called on “all actors” to exercise the greatest possible restraint.
The United States, France, Germany and Austria also condemned the recent rocket fire on Thursday. The US reiterated its commitment to Israel’s security. Washington also recognizes “Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself against all forms of aggression,” the US State Department said. “I condemn the rocket attacks on Israel in the strongest possible terms. The rising tensions are very worrying. Attacks on civilian targets cannot be justified by anything,” said Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on Twitter.
For two days in a row, Israeli police officers and Palestinians clashed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to eyewitnesses, the police tried to get Palestinians out of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, using stun grenades and rubber bullets.
According to the Israeli police, they felt compelled to act on the first night after “masked agitators” had holed up on the premises. More than 350 people were arrested and taken away. According to rescue workers, dozens of people were injured, including Israeli security forces. The Red Crescent accused the Israelis of preventing paramedics from reaching the mosque.
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon had pledged its full support to Palestinian groups taking “measures against Israel”. She promises to “stand by her side in all measures” to protect believers.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a holy site for Muslims and Jews. Tensions have increased there in recent years. This year, a further complication is that the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, coincides with the Jewish Passover and Christian Easter, which means that more people from all religious groups are visiting the site.
The latest escalation came amid incursions by Israeli security forces into the West Bank in recent months, which have killed more than 250 Palestinians and arrested thousands. More than 40 Israelis and three Ukrainians have been killed in attacks by Palestinians.