After heavy shelling by suspected militant Palestinian organizations from Lebanon, Israel’s army attacked targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday night. The army said fighter jets had bombed, among other things, weapons factories owned by the Islamist Hamas in Gaza. It was initially unclear whether there were injuries or even deaths. According to Palestinian media and eyewitnesses, explosions might be heard and smoke seen over the coastal enclave.
In the meantime, a rocket alarm had been triggered in the Israeli border area with the Gaza Strip, the army said. Palestinian eyewitnesses said shells and rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel following the Israeli bombardment. It was initially unclear which militant group was behind the attacks.
According to the army, 34 rockets had been fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory on Thursday followingnoon – the most since 2006. A large part was intercepted. Two people in northern Israel were reportedly slightly injured. The Israeli army assumes that Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, or the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad are involved. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened tough action in the evening.
The escalation was preceded by Israeli police clashes with Palestinians on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to media reports, police used batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to remove Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque for two nights in a row. A police spokeswoman said young people had previously thrown firecrackers and stones at police officers and tried to barricade themselves in the mosque.
The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. But it is also sacred to Jews because there used to be two Jewish temples there. Violent confrontations are frequent in the area around the mosque.
