Dozens of rockets were fired into Israel from Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon, Israeli news outlets reported on Thursday afternoon. Air sirens were sounded across northern Israel, and the country’s Iron Dome missile defense system kicked into action as close to 34 rockets entered the Israeli airspace.
“An initial inquiry identified 34 rockets that were fired from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement obtained by the Legal Insurrection. The IDF added that “25 rockets were intercepted by the [Iron Dome]. Five rockets landed in Israeli territory.”
Palestinian terrorist groups operating under Hezbollah terror militia’s protection were apparently responsible for the rocket barrage. “Reports indicate that Palestinian groups based in Lebanon were behind the rocket attack,” the Israeli TV channel i24news reported.
One person has been reported injured so far. “Following the Red Alert sirens in the Western Galilee: MDA EMTs and Paramedics are treating a 19 year old male in mild condition with shrapnel injuries to his limbs. MDA teams also treated an approximately 60 year old woman who was lightly injured on her way to the secure room, as well as a number of victims with stress symptoms,” Israel’s national emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, said in a statement obtained by the Legal Insurrection.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by shelling terrorist positions in southern Lebanon. “Israeli artillery shelled the southern Lebanese town of Al-Qlaileh after the barrage of rocket fire, Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar channel reports,” Haaretz newspaper confirmed.
The Israeli news website Ynet reported:
Rocket sirens blared throughout northern Israel on Thursday and the army confirmed the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted multiple rockets fired from Lebanon in the worst escalation on the northern front since the 2006 war against Hezbollah.The first rocket was fired into northern Israel around 2:30pm. The army said that the projectile was shot down successfully by Iron Dome.Some 20 minutes after the initial launch, a heavy volley of dozens of rockets rained upon Western Galilee communities.Footage shared online purports to show multiple rockets fired from farmland in southern Lebanon into Israel.The airspace over northern Israel was shuttered as fighter jets and drones scrambled to the border area.One man was reportedly mildly injured from shrapnel in the village of Fassouta south of the Lebanese border. Another rocket reportedly crashed in the northern community of Shlomi. There were no reports of injuries.The IDF responded with artillery fire toward several locations south of the Lebanese city of Tyre.
The massive barrage from Lebanon coincides with similar rocket attacks from Hamas-run Gaza. “The Israel Defense Forces said seven surface-to-air rockets were launched, with all of them exploding in the sky. It added that two of the rockets were fired in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea and the rest toward Israel,” The Times of Israel reported Thursday morning.
Palestinian terrorists are firing rockets over northern and southern Israel while angry Palestinians staging violent riots inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. They are enraged at the sight of Jewish worshipers visiting the holy site during the ongoing Passover festivities.
“Tonight, while police officers continued to allow many Muslims to celebrate the festive month of Ramadan and safely reach the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount for the evening prayers, dozens of law-breaking juveniles, some of them masked, threw fireworks and stones into the Mosque with the aim of disrupting the order, while desecrating the Mosque,” the Jerusalem Police said in a statement obtained by the Legal Insurrection on Thursday. “The lawbreakers started shouting incitement, shooting fireworks, and throwing objects at the Muslim worshipers and at the police officers who were operating on the spot,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Arab nations banded together to side with Palestinian rioters and condemn Israel. “The Arab League on Wednesday condemned a raid by Israeli forces on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. “The extremist approaches that control the policy of the Israeli government will lead to widespread confrontations with the Palestinians if they are not put to an end,” League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement,” Reuters reported Wednesday.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group, which fired rockets into Israel from Gaza earlier this week, cheered as missiles landed in northern Israel. “We welcome this strong resistance response to the crimes of the enemy. We emphasize that the resistance is one united front against the Zionist enemy,” the terror group said in a statement.
“Military spokesman Daniel Hagari says the Gaza Strip-based Hamas terror group is behind the rocket fire from Lebanon,” The Times of Israel reported. “Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is holding an assessment with military officials on the potential response to the rocket fire from Lebanon, military spokesman Daniel Hagari says.”
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