Israel’s military has announced that it has carried out strikes against targets associated with Hamas in both Lebanon and Gaza. The move came after a major rocket attack on Israel from Lebanon, which the Israeli government blamed on the militant group.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Hamas’ “terrorist” infrastructure had been targeted in southern Lebanon, while airstrikes were carried out in Gaza. The tensions arose after Israeli police raided Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque on consecutive nights earlier this week, causing outrage in the region and violent confrontations with Palestinians.
Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Lebanon at the time of the rocket attack, said that the Palestinians would not “sit with their arms crossed” in the face of Israeli aggression. The IDF tweeted a statement early on Friday, saying that it had hit targets “including terrorist infrastructures belonging to Hamas in southern Lebanon.” The IDF also declared that it would not allow Hamas to operate from Lebanon and held Lebanon “responsible for every directed fire emanating from its territory.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned any military operations from the country’s territory that “destabilize the situation”. The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Unifil, urged “restraint and to avoid further escalation” in response to the situation.
The attack from Lebanon was the biggest single barrage from Israel’s northern neighbor in 17 years, with Israel reporting that most of the 34 rockets were intercepted. Six of them caused damage to buildings.
Israeli warplanes 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.
The Israeli airstrikes are said to be the heaviest since a round of fighting with Islamic Jihad in August 2022. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the situation in a televised address, saying: “We will hit our enemies and they will pay a price for all acts of aggression.”
He also called for a calming of tensions and added, “we will act decisively against extremists who use violence.”
