On Friday, April 7, Israel attacked southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, claiming to target the positions of the Palestinian Hamas movement, in response to the firing of dozens of rockets into its territory, before dawn.
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The airstrikes began shortly before midnight in Gaza and lasted for several hours, and the bombings in southern Lebanon were brief around 2 am (Paris time). The Israeli army claimed to have wounded three “infrastructure” belonging to the Hamas movement in the Rashidieh area, where there is a Palestinian refugee camp near Tyre. This is the first time that Israel has confirmed its attack on Lebanese territory since April 2022.
sequel after announcement
These strikes are the latest episode in a sudden escalation of tension in the Middle East since Wednesday, after a relative lull in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict observed since the start of Ramadan on March 23. It also constitutes an escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese front unparalleled since 2006.
“no war”
Loud explosions were heard in Tire, south Lebanon. Abu Ahmed, a resident of Rashidieh camp, told AFP At least two shells landed near the camp.. An AFP correspondent in this area indicated that a shell fell on the roof of a house on a farm near the camp, causing material damage.
On Thursday, the day of Passover, about 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israel, injuring one person and causing material damage. These shootings took place the day after the violent storming of the Israeli police on Wednesday at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, in order to expel the Palestinians who had barricaded themselves there.
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The Israeli military said it was almost certainly the unannounced rocket attacks from Lebanon “Palestinians”Perhaps, according to her, the work of Hamas or Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian movement, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to do so. “pay full price” to the enemies of Israel.
sequel after announcement
The United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL), deployed in southern Lebanon, contacted the Israeli and Lebanese authorities, pleading “All parties must cease all their actions”. “Both sides said they didn’t want war.”UNIFIL reassured in a press release.
“blast to blast”
For its part, the Israeli army confirmed that it would not allow this “The Hamas terrorist organization is not to operate out of Lebanon and it is [tenait] The Lebanese state is responsible for any targeted shooting [vers Israël] from its territory. »
condemnation “In the strongest possible terms, the appalling Israeli aggression” In Gaza and Lebanon, Hamas, which has held power in Gaza since 2007, has said it controls Israel “fully responsible for the consequences of such a serious attack”.
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The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported “Damage” In Al-Durra Children’s Hospital (east of Gaza City) following the Israeli raids and the condemnation of the act “unacceptable”. “I see this information, and we’re reviewing it.”IDF spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht told reporters.
sequel after announcement
“Every explosion will be answered by an explosion […] Any attack on Al-Aqsa or worshipers [musulmans] You will find an answerclaimed Islamic Jihad.
Technically, Israel and Lebanon remain at war after various conflicts. UNIFIL controls the ceasefire line. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry confirmed that Lebanon wants to preserve it “calm and stability” in the south. He called on the international community to do so Pressure on Israel to stop the escalation.
Palestinians ‘will not stand idly by’
Earlier Thursday, the Shiite group Hezbollah, the de facto leader of southern Lebanon, announced its support for it “all measurements” Armed Palestinian groups can take action against Israel through denunciations “attack force” Occupation forces against Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, who is visiting Lebanon, said the Palestinians would not stay “Not with arms crossed.” in the face of al “assaults” Israel is on the scene. “If the Zionists think they can desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque, they must understand (…) that it can set the entire region on fire.”Hashim Safi Al-Din, a leader in Hezbollah, warned, citing the movement’s chain.
In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said it carried out several air strikes during the night, targeting a total of ten targets, including tunnels, heavy machine guns, and weapons workshops belonging to the Hamas movement. In response, dozens of rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip. Only one rocket landed in an urban area, Sderot, very close to the Gaza Strip, damaging a house, according to Lt. Col. Hecht.
