Thursday evening about thirty rockets they were launched to Israel from Lebanon, a country that Israel has invaded several times, most recently in 2006, and with which relations remain very tense. The Israeli military described the attack as the heaviest bombing carried out from Lebanese territory since 2006. On Friday morning, Israel responded to the attack with shelling in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army has announced that it has hit some bases of Hamas, the radical Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, held responsible for Thursday night’s attack.
Neither Thursday night’s attack nor Friday’s shelling resulted in deaths or serious injuries, but on Friday afternoon two women were killed in an armed attack near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, blamed by the Israeli army on Palestinians. The fear is that the violence could spread in a period of great tensions between the Israeli security forces and Palestinian armed groups, as often happens in Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims during which this year celebrate also the week of Passover.
In the night between Wednesday and Thursday there were new clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem: it was the second consecutive night of clashes in one of the most important places of worship for Islam.
The rockets launched Thursday evening from Lebanon were largely intercepted by Israeli defense systems: those that arrived on Israeli territory caused a fire and two minor injuries. The Lebanese army said it had found rocket launching positions in the towns of Zibqin and Qlaileh, not far from the border with Israel. The rockets fell near Metulla, one of the northernmost towns in Israeli territory.
Documentation coming out of Lebanon for the launch of the rockets today at noon. According to Lebanese sources, between 20 and 30 rockets were launched, the Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces began scanning and began investigating the incident. Currently, no organization has claimed responsibility. pic.twitter.com/WlXVHAC5xo
– Jack khoury April 6, 2023
Rocket from Lebanon hits the city of Shlomi, northern Israel pic.twitter.com/cJPIz0tstW
— Yosef Yisrael (@yosefyisrael25) April 6, 2023
There is less information on the Israeli attack on Lebanese territory: it is known that the Israeli army bombed with its planes some areas near a Palestinian refugee camp in the city of Tyre, about 20 kilometers from the border between Israel and Lebanon.
France Media Agency wrote that a missile landed on a farmer’s house, damaging it. Associated Press posted photos in which you can see the damage of the Israeli attack. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in addition to Hamas, the Israeli army also holds the Lebanese government responsible for the attacks, for failing to prevent them.
IDF now also attacking in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/mlYH6q7MMM
— Noga Tarnopolsky Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) April 7, 2023
Lebanon has been going through an economic and political crisis for years now which has weakened even more state control over local armed groups: both over Hezbollah, which refers to Iran and which often clashes with Israeli forces especially in Syria, and with Hamas, a minority but present in Lebanon for many years.