Israel struck targets in southern Lebanon on Friday and continued air strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli ministry said, as reported by the news agency AP. The recent attacks mark a further escalation in the region after violence took place this week at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.
The latest strikes in southern Lebanon came after militants from Lebanon fired three dozen rockets at Israel on Thursday. According to AP, Gaza militants resumed rocket fire toward southern Israel early Friday following Israeli attacks there. The recent violence began on Wednesday following the raids by Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. The raids led to rocket fire from Gaza and an unusual barrage of three dozen rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel.
Lebanon’s prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the firing of rockets from Lebanon, adding that Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers were investigating and trying to find the perpetrators.
No group in Lebanon claimed responsibility for the attack. Speaking on the condition of annonymity, a Lebanese security official, who was not authorised to interact with media, said the country’s security forces believed the rockets were launched by a Lebanon-based Palestinian militant group, not by Hezbollah, as reported by AP.
According to The Guardian, two explosions were heard in Gaza late on Thursday. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted but Israel said its jets hit targets including tunnels and weapons manufacturing sites of Hamas. After a security cabinet meeting prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Israel’s response, tonight and later, will exact a significant price from our enemies,” as quoted by The Guardian. Most of the 34 projectiles were intercepted, but there were two minor injuries.
At least three explosions in southern Lebanon’s Tyre region with at least two shells falling near a Palestinian refugee camp near Tyre city. One missile fell on a farmer’s house near the camp, causing material damage, as reported by the news agency AFP.