Israel’s military has launched air attacks on Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip following a spate of reported rocket attacks on the country. The escalation in tensions comes after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on successive days this week, firing stun grenades and attacking Palestinians as they gathered for Ramadan prayers.Israel announced it was “striking in Lebanon” in a short statement at 4:07am (01:07 GMT) on Friday, saying it was targeting Hamas. Hours earlier, it launched raids on Gaza, a besieged Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas.

A Lebanese military unit has located a rocket launcher near the town of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, which lies about six kilometers north of the Israeli town of Metula. The Lebanese army said over Twitter that its forces were working to dismantle the launcher, which contained a number of unlaunched missiles.The latest round of so-called “clashes” – sparked when Israeli police decided to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by repeatedly attacking Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque – has produced predictably disproportionate casualties.

Israeli police are deployed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Palestinian media reported police attacked Palestinian worshippers, raising fears of wider tension as Islamic and Jewish holidays overlap.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Although Israel has blamed Hamas for Thursday’s attack, which took place as Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh was visiting Lebanon, security experts said Hezbollah, the powerful Shia group which helps Israel’s main enemy Iran project its power across the region, must have given its permission. “It’s not Hezbollah shooting, but it’s hard to believe that Hezbollah didn’t know about it,” Tamir Hayman, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, said on Twitter.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP