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Israel strikes Lebanon and Gaza after major rocket attack Israel strikes Lebanon and Gaza after major rocket attack
(about 2 hours later)
Plumes of smoke were seen rising above Gaza City after Israeli strikesPlumes of smoke were seen rising above Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Israel's military says it has struck targets linked to Palestinian militant group Hamas inside Lebanon and across the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military has carried out air strikes on targets belonging to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
The attacks come after a major rocket barrage on Israel from Lebanon, which the Israelis blamed on Hamas. The military said the attacks were a response to a barrage of 34 rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Thursday, which it blamed on Hamas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hamas' "terrorist" infrastructure was hit in southern Lebanon. Militants in Gaza fired dozens more rockets after the strikes began.
Tensions are high after Israeli police raided Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on consecutive nights earlier this week. Tensions are high following two nights of Israeli police raids at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem earlier this week.
The mosque is Islam's third holiest site, and the Israeli raids have triggered violent confrontations with Palestinians inside and caused outrage in the wider region. The raids triggered violent confrontations with Palestinians inside the mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam, and caused anger across the region.
Ramadan and Passover raise tensions at Jerusalem holy site Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Lebanon when the rockets were launched, said Palestinians would not "sit with their arms crossed" in the face of Israeli aggression.
Violence as Israeli police raid al-Aqsa mosque The attack was the biggest barrage from Lebanon in 17 years.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Lebanon when the rockets were launched, said Palestinians would not "sit with their arms crossed" in the face of Israeli aggression. Overnight, there were two or three explosions around the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp, 5km (3 miles) south of the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre.
In a statement early on Friday, the IDF tweeted that it had truck targets "including terrorist infrastructures belonging to Hamas in southern Lebanon". There were also air strikes across Gaza, which is governed by Hamas.
The IDF added that it would not allow Hamas to operate from Lebanon and held Lebanon "responsible for every directed fire emanating from its territory". The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweeted that its warplanes struck "terrorist infrastructures belonging to Hamas" in Lebanon.
"The IDF will not allow the Hamas terrorist organization to operate from within Lebanon and hold the state of Lebanon responsible for every directed fire emanating from its territory," it warned.
Hamas said it strongly condemned "the blatant Zionist aggression against Lebanon in the vicinity of Tyre at dawn today [Friday]".
In Gaza, more than 10 Hamas targets were hit, including a shaft for an underground site to construct weapons, three other weapons workshops and an underground "terrorist tunnel", the IDF said.
During the strikes, at least 44 rockets were fired from Gaza towards southern Israel, Israeli media reported.
Most were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defence system or fell in open areas, but at least one house in the city of Sderot was hit.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties from either the strikes or the overnight rocket fire.
In the Israeli border town of Shlomi, the rockets left craters in the road, and damaged vehicles and a bankIn the Israeli border town of Shlomi, the rockets left craters in the road, and damaged vehicles and a bank
Hamas said it had no information about who fired the missiles from Lebanon on Thursday. A man was injured by shrapnel in northern Israel on Thursday afternoon as a result of the rocket fire from Lebanon. The Israeli military said 25 of the 34 rockets were intercepted, but that five hit Israeli territory.
The attack was the biggest single barrage from Israel's northern neighbour in 17 years, with Israel reporting that most of the 34 rockets were intercepted - but that five caused damage to buildings. In the north-western border town of Shlomi, the rockets left craters in the road, and damaged vehicles and a bank. A car was also damaged in the village of Fassuta.
Israeli warplanes also stepped up air strikes in Gaza, with around 20 missiles striking four new sites in 10 minutes. Palestinian militants also fired a new round of rockets at southern Israel, where warning sirens were heard sounding. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that Israel's response would "exact a significant price from our enemies" following a meeting of his security cabinet.
The Israeli jets attacked an underground weapons production site and three above-ground sites, the IDF spokesperson's unit was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post. An Israeli military spokesman said it believed Hamas was behind the attack and that it was possible the militant group Islamic Jihad was also involved.
The Israeli airstrikes are said to be the heaviest since a round of fighting with Islamic Jihad in August 2022. He added that they assumed the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war with Israeli in 2006, knew about the attack, and they suspected there was also Iranian involvement.
The Israeli response came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an urgent security cabinet meeting. No group claimed it was behind the attack, but it came hours after Hezbollah, which controls much of southern Lebanon, said it would support "all measures" taken by Palestinians "to protect worshippers and the al-Aqsa mosque and to deter the enemy from continuing its attacks".
In a televised address, he said: "We will hit our enemies and they will pay a price for all acts of aggression." He also called for a calming of tensions, adding "we will act decisively against extremists who use violence". Lebanon's Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, condemned any military operations its territory that "destabilise the situation".
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned any military operations from the country's territory that "destabilise the situation". The Lebanese Army said the rockets were launched from sites in the vicinity of the south-western border villages of al-Qulaila, Maaliya and Zibqine, which are near Tyre.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Unifil, said the situation was "extremely serious" and urged "restraint and to avoid further escalation". It posted photos of rocket launchpads and a number of unlaunched rockets that it said troops had found in al-Qulaila, Zibqine and further east, near Marjayoun.
Related TopicsRelated Topics
Israel & the PalestiniansIsrael & the Palestinians
IsraelIsrael
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Palestinian territoriesPalestinian territories
GazaGaza
HamasHamas
JerusalemJerusalem