34 Lebanon Rockets Hit Israel; Israeli PM Vows to Retaliate

• Militants in Lebanon launched an attack of rockets into northern Israel
• This was the largest single assault since the Lebanon War in 2006
• Thousands of people were horrified by the sight of the rockets tearing across the sky

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to respond forcefully to a barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon on Thursday, as tensions threatened to spiral out of control following Israeli police assaults on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem this week.

Following the largest rocket attack from Lebanon since Israel's conflict with the heavily armed Hezbollah group in 2006, Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with his security cabinet ministers.

Lebanon Rockets Hit Northern Israel

In brief televised remarks before the meeting, he urged calm at Al-Aqsa, also known as the Temple Mount by Jews. Thursday saw the launch of 34 rockets from Lebanon, 25 of which were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system. According to Israel's ambulance service, one individual suffered minor shrapnel injuries.

Following police searches on consecutive evenings at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year coincides with the Jewish Passover holiday, Israel has come under international pressure.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the projectile attacks, but Israeli officials blamed Hamas, the Islamist organization that governs the Gaza Strip, as per Reuters. Hezbollah, the potent Shi'ite group that aids Israel's principal enemy Iran in projecting its influence throughout the region, must have given its permission, according to security experts.

Social media videos depicted rockets from Lebanon streaking through the heavens over northern Israel, accompanied by distant explosions. Israel shut down its northern airspace in response to the bombardment. No fatalities have been reported; it is unknown which faction in Lebanon fired the rockets.

CNN was informed by an unidentified IDF defense official that Israel stated it would "determine the location and time" of its response. A spokesperson for the Israeli military stated that they believed a Palestinian militant group, not Hezbollah, was responsible for the attack.

Wednesday marks the second time Israeli police assaulted the al-Aqsa mosque. Before Thursday's Israeli security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu stated that Israel "will strike our adversaries, and they will pay for every act of aggression."

The Lebanese army verified that a number of rockets were discharged from the south of the country but did not specify who was responsible. Ismail Haniyeh, the commander of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, arrived in Beirut the previous day for consultations with Hezbollah officials.

Israeli police invaded the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on two separate occasions on Wednesday, during the sacred month of Ramadan, as Palestinian worshippers were offering prayers.

Israeli officers were captured on camera assaulting Palestinians with batons and rifle stocks before arresting hundreds of Palestinians. "Hundreds of protesters" attempted to barricade themselves inside the mosque, according to the Israeli police.

Palestinian Group Praises the Attack

The incident, widely condemned by the Arab and Muslim world, prompted Gaza to launch retaliatory rockets at Israel.

Since Ramadan began on March 22, many Muslim devotees have repeatedly attempted to spend the night in the mosque, permitted only during the last ten days of the month-long holiday.

The nightly entry of Israeli police to evict the devotees has stoked tensions with young Palestinians who insist on praying at the sacred site until dawn. Tensions over control of the sacred site have been exacerbated by Jewish ultranationalists' demands to slaughter a goat in the compound, imitating a biblical Passover ritual sacrifice.

Per NBC News, the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad praised the rocket attacks as "a heroic operation against Israeli atrocities in the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

According to state media in Lebanon, Ismail Haniyeh, the commander of the Palestinian Hamas group that controls Gaza, also arrived in Beirut on Wednesday. In response, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired rockets at southern Israel, resulting in repeated Israeli bombardment.

Separately, the Israeli military reported that one soldier was wounded in occupied West Bank territory. The violence occurs during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Jews started celebrating Passover on Wednesday evening. In the meantime, many Christians are celebrating Holy Week.

Tags

Israel, Lebanon, Benjamin Netanyahu