Middle East Conflict
After shelling from Lebanon: Israel shoots back
Smoke and fire rise after an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City. photo
© Adel Hana/AP
Israel has come under heavy fire for the first time in years. The army responded with counterattacks during the night – but not on the neighboring country. The commanders suspect the military to be somewhere else.
After heavy shelling by suspected militant Palestinian organizations from Lebanon, Israel’s army attacked targets in Lebanon in the early hours of the morning. This was announced by the Israeli military on Twitter. According to media reports, there were explosions south of the city of Tyros. A Palestinian refugee camp is said to be nearby.
According to the army, 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory yesterday afternoon – the most since 2006. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened tough action in the evening. Tensions continue to flare up on the border with Lebanon. The two neighboring countries are officially at war.
Israel’s army first attacked targets in the Gaza Strip during the night. In the meantime, a rocket alarm had been triggered in the Israeli border area with the Gaza Strip, the army said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said shells and rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel after the Israeli bombardment. It was initially unclear which militant group was behind the attacks.
The escalation was preceded by Israeli police clashes with Palestinians on the Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem. The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. But it is also sacred to Jews because there used to be two Jewish temples there. Violent confrontations are frequent in the area around the mosque.