Militants firing rockets from Lebanon at Israel

[ad_1]

Militants in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel on Thursday, in a sharp escalation of tensions after Israeli police forcibly expelled Palestinian worshipers from the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for the second day in a row.

The Israeli military said 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon, in what Israeli media described as the country’s largest salvo since 2006. Air defenses intercepted 25, but at least five of them landed in Israel and medics said three people were wounded.

An Israeli military spokesman said he believed Palestinian militants in Lebanon – affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad – fired the rockets, but assumed that the Lebanese group Hezbollah knew about the attack.

Israel’s security cabinet is scheduled to meet later on Thursday. The UN peacekeeping force said the situation was “extremely dangerous”.

No party has claimed responsibility for the rare missile launch from Lebanon. Hezbollah, whose Iran-backed paramilitary group is the most powerful group in Lebanon, and Palestinian groups in Lebanon are suspected of being behind previous cross-border incidents.

Earlier in the day, militants in Gaza, the besieged coastal enclave controlled by Hamas, fired seven surface-to-air missiles. All the rockets from Gaza exploded in the air, and there were no reports of casualties.

The rocket fire followed a second night of tension at Al-Aqsa, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, as Israeli police entered the hilltop compound to turn away Muslim worshipers who had tried to stay in the mosque overnight.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said that six people were wounded in Al-Aqsa, and that two were taken to hospital, one with a rubber bullet and the other with blunt trauma. Police said they responded to youths throwing fireworks and stones.

Shortly before the rockets were fired from Lebanon, Hezbollah condemned the treatment of Palestinians at Al-Aqsa, calling it “a flagrant violation of the believers in Jerusalem”. She said she supports “all the movements of the Palestinian people and the resistance to defend the worshipers and deter the Israeli aggression.”

The Al-Aqsa compound, the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest in Judaism, is one of the most sensitive places in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The clashes there sparked wider clashes, including an 11-day war between Israel and militants in Gaza two years ago.

Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including the Old City where the Al-Aqsa compound is located, since 1967.

Under the so-called status quo agreement, Muslims and non-Muslims can visit the site, but only Muslims are allowed to pray there. But in recent years, Jewish groups have also prayed there, prompting concern among Muslims that the status quo is eroding.

Those fears have been exacerbated by the presence of extremists in Israel’s new hardline government such as Itamar Ben Gvir, a settler who has long called for Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Wednesday that the status quo would not change.

recommended

Wednesday night’s unrest was less intense than the night before, when footage of heavily armed Israeli troops entering the mosque and beating Palestinians with rifle butts and batons sparked outrage in the Arab world, as well as an exchange of gunfire between gunmen in Gaza and Israel.

The US Office of Palestinian Affairs said on Wednesday that it was “concerned by the horrific scenes at Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rockets launched from Gaza towards Israel.”

She added, “We call for restraint and de-escalation to allow peaceful worship and protect the sanctity of holy places.”

The violence, which erupted as Muslims celebrated the holy month of Ramadan and Jews began the week-long Passover festival, follows a year of heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions that has raised fears of broader conflict.

Last year, Israeli forces killed more than 250 Palestinians in the West Bank, while Palestinians killed more than 40 Israelis.

[ad_2]