Several injured as Lebanon fires 34 rockets into Israel
Jerusalem, Apr 6 (EFE).- Several were injured on Thursday after at least 34 rockets were launched from Lebanon into Israel, Israeli officials said, marking the largest missile barrage from Lebanon since the war in 2006.
“An initial inquiry identified 34 rockets that were fired from Lebanon into Israel,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on Twitter.
Five rockets fell on Israeli territory, 25 were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system while the rest are under examination, the IDF said.
Emergency medical service Magen David Adom said a 19-year-old sustained a hand injury from shrapnel and a woman in her 60s was injured in the leg after falling on the road on her way to a bomb shelter.
Another man, 26, was also hit by shrapnel while he was riding a motorcycle in the town of Shlomi, local media reported.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia controls the southern region of Lebanon, but local media reported the Palestinian armed groups operating there were behind the attack.
These armed groups, based in refugee camps in southern Lebanon, fire rockets into Israel at times of tension, the last of which was in April 2022 when clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians took place at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Thursday’s incident comes amid an escalation of violence in the area, with Israeli forces clashing with Palestinians at al-Aqsa and militants in the Gaza Strip firing several rockets at Israel in response.
More than 15 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel between Wednesday and Thursday, including five surface-to-air that exploded in the air. One hit a factory in the city of Sderot while the rest were either intercepted or fell in empty areas.
Israel responded by bombing Hamas positions in the coastal enclave on Wednesday but is yet to respond to Thursday’s missile fire.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has convened an emergency meeting with his government’s security cabinet, while defense minister Yoav Gallant is expected to sit with the military leadership after being informed of the situation.
The surge in violence broke out early Wednesday after clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers in al-Aqsa, leaving more than 30 people injured and 350 others detained.
It was the first violent incident at the holy site since the beginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan two weeks ago.EFE
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