Israel strikes Hamas positions in Lebanon after rocket attack

Jerusalem, Apr 7 (EFE).- The Israel Defense Force (IDF) on Friday attacked positions of the Palestinian militant Hamas group in southern Lebanon while continuing to strike Hamas targets in Gaza, a day after the launch of some 36 rockets from Lebanon.

“The IDF struck targets including terrorist infrastructures belonging to Hamas in southern Lebanon,” the armed forces said on Twitter.

“The IDF will not allow the Hamas terrorist organization to operate from within Lebanon & hold the state of Lebanon responsible for every directed fire emanating from its territory,” it added.

The strikes come after the largest attack from Lebanese territory towards Israel since the 2006 war and for which the IDF blames Palestinian groups.

Meanwhile, IDF fighter jets and tanks along the border also continued to attack Hamas targets in Gaza early Friday morning.

“Following the continued shooting from the Gaza Strip, an IDF tank and aircraft this morning (Friday) attacked military positions of the terrorist organization Hamas along the border of the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement.

“Earlier, warplanes attacked additional targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including a shaft for an underground site for the production of weapons…and three additional sites for the production of explosives and a terrorist tunnel,” it added.

Israel holds Hamas, which is the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip, responsible for all attacks emanating from there.

Although the number of rockets launched from Gaza towards Israel early Friday has not yet been specified, a military spokesperson said there were “multiple” rockets while local media reports put it at over 40.

“We hold the Zionist occupation fully responsible for the grave escalation and the flagrant aggression against the Gaza Strip and for the consequences that will bring onto the region,” Hamas said in a statement after the Israeli retaliatory bombings early morning.

The group also referred to the clashes between the Israeli police and worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied east Jerusalem on Wednesday, which left more than 30 Palestinians injured and some 350 detained and sparked the ongoing exchange of rocket fire. EFE

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