A war-like situation has erupted. It seemed like people prepared themselves for attacks and authorities opened shelters. Yes, the Israeli Palestinian conflict came back to the headlines in the last couple of days, when Israeli forces attacked worshippers in Al Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian groups responded by firing rockets from all over Lebanon. All of this created the tensest environment the region has witnessed in a while.
3 Israelis were injured after a series of Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon, Israel said that there were 34 of them, and that its army intercepted and destroyed with the help of its Iron Dome air defense system 25 of them. On the other hand, the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" in Lebanon was accused of being responsible for the attacks, and Lebanon was told that it would bear the responsibility since the rockets were launched from Lebanese territory.
The Lebanese News Agency announced that Israeli artillery shelled a number of heavy artillery on the outskirts of the southern villages of Qlaila and Al-Maaliya in Tyre district.
For its part, the Lebanese authorities, represented by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, confirmed their readiness to cooperate with the UN forces in southern Lebanon, during a visit from the Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and to take appropriate measures to restore calm and stability. Mr. Mikati has also strongly refused any military escalation coming from Lebanese soil.
An Israeli defense official blamed Palestinian groups and not Hezbollah for the rocket attacks.
The Northern Region Command opened fortified places and shelters in and around towns bordering the border with Lebanon and urged citizens and settlers to enter them and take cover.
This attack came as a retaliation for the brutality seen in Al Aqsa Mosque the night before. When Israeli forces raided the sacred mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, during a time where believers were performing special prayers only done during the month of Ramadan, the tarawih prayers.
During this raid, hundreds of Palestinian worshipers were injured and arrested by the Israeli authorities. Even more distressing are the images of the mosque largely devastated by the raid
From then on, part of the Israeli (and pro-Israeli) media machine took off: The Israeli police would have dislodged the so-called "armed rioters".
Analysts have confirmed that any escalation targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque will not keep the border calm, neither in Lebanon nor in the entire region.
Till now, the question of who officially shot those rockets still remains a question, even though the Lebanese army found two of the rocket launchers. However, this did not stop the Israeli authorities from striking back.
It was a tense night in both the Israeli-Palestinian territories and Lebanon awaiting the IDF’s response. Midnight struck and the first bombings took place. The Israelis chose Gaza as their sole target. This decision was expected as multiple Israeli officials announced that they did not wish to go to war with Lebanon.
The Israeli forces bombed areas in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday evening. After statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he vowed a military response to the multiple attacks attributed to the Palestinians.
The Israeli occupation army began bombing targets belonging to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip. It was pointed out that the Salah al-Din site of Hamas in central Gaza was the very first target.
The Israeli army held Hamas responsible for what happened and said it would pay the price. Even though Hamas never officially claimed responsibility.
In response to the Israeli bombings on Gaza, the Palestinian resistance groups, mainly Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, launched a big number and bursts of ground anti-aircraft missiles from the Strip towards the towns around the Gaza Strip.
As for Lebanon, Israel launched an airstrike in Tyre. The strike was heard all around the southern city and its surroundings.
Edited by : Ritaja Kar
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