Rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon after clashes at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque

Issued on: 06/04/2023 – 16:20

Israel’s army said it had “identified 34 rockets that were fired from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory” and that 25 were intercepted by Israeli air defences.

“Five rockets landed in Israeli territory”, added the army statement that followed the attack, which was not immediately claimed by any group.

The rocket fire came amid heightened tensions after Israeli riot police clashed with Palestinians inside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque before dawn Wednesday and again in the evening, sparking condemnation from across the Muslim world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “receiving continuous updates about the security situation and will conduct an assessment with the heads of the security establishment,” his office said.

Israeli emergency services reported a man had been lightly wounded by shrapnel and a female was injured while running to a shelter. Warning sirens sounded in the town of Shlomi and in Moshav Betzet and the Galilee in northern Israel, the army said.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called for restraint.

“The current situation is extremely serious,” said the force which patrols the border area between the two countries that are technically still at war. “UNIFIL urges restraint and to avoid further escalation.”

The Israeli military denied to AFP that it had retaliated “thus far”, in response to reports from Lebanon’s National News Agency that Israel had struck targets in southern Lebanon.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had been briefed on the details of the events on Israel’s northern border, a ministry spokesman said. 

“The minister will soon conduct a situation assessment with senior officials in the defence establishment,” he added. 

Al-Aqsa clashes

Israeli riot police had on Wednesday stormed the prayer hall of Al-Aqsa mosque in a pre-dawn raid aiming to dislodge “law-breaking youths and masked agitators” they said had barricaded themselves inside.

The violence, during both the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, sparked an exchange of rockets and air strikes with militants in the Gaza Strip, with fears of further escalation.

Lebanon’s pro-Iranian armed movement Hezbollah had warned earlier Thursday it would support “all measures” that Palestinian groups may take against Israel after the clashes. 

Shiite militant group Hezbollah is the only Lebanese faction that kept its weapons after the end of the country’s 1975-1990 civil war.

“Hezbollah forcefully denounces the assault carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and its attacks on the faithful,” Hezbollah said in a statement.

Hezbollah, an arch foe of Israel, has close ties with the Islamist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza, and with the Islamic Jihad militant group, which is also based in the coastal enclave. 

The last rocket fired from Lebanon into Israel was in April 2022. 

Security incidents occur from time to time in the border area between Lebanon and Israel, which is guarded by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

The UN force urged restraint after the rocket fire Thursday.

(AFP)