Israel Blames Hamas for Rocket Attack From Lebanon Following Tensions in Jerusalem
Israel blamed the Islamist group Hamas for a barrage of more than 30 rockets launched from Lebanon into Israel on Thursday. The rocket attacks followed escalating tensions after an Israeli police raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem early Wednesday morning.
“We know for sure it’s Palestinian fire,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, the Israeli military’s international media spokesman, told reporters.
“It’s hard to say: It could be Hamas, it could be Islamic Jihad, we are still trying to finalize, but it wasn’t Hizbullah,” he continued.
“We assume Hizbullah knew about it, and Lebanon also has some responsibility. We are also investigating whether Iran was involved.”
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was set to hold a meeting of the security cabinet to decide on a response to what was the biggest rocket attack from Lebanon since 2006, when a 34-day war ended in a draw.
“No one should test us, we will take all necessary measures to defend our country and people,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Twitter.
The incident came as Israel faced worldwide pressure following a police raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year coincides with the Jewish Passover holiday that started on Wednesday evening.
Hizbullah did not make any official comments following the firing of the rockets.
Thursday’s rocket fire from Lebanon wounded at least three people, according to the Galilee Medical Center.
“It’s not Hizbullah shooting but it’s hard to believe that Hizbullah didn’t know about it,” Tamir Hayman, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, said on Twitter.
Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh was visiting Lebanon but there was no immediate comment from the group.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, along with Lebanese officials, reported that Israeli tanks along the border fired shells toward southern Lebanese towns near the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp in response to the rocket fire. Hecht, the army spokesman, denied the claim and said there had been no Israeli fire.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that it found missile launchers and “a number of rockets intended for launch” in the vicinity of the towns of Zibqin and Qlaileh in south Lebanon and was working to dismantle them.
In Washington, Vedant Patel, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, said, “Israel has legitimate security concerns and has every right to defend themselves.”
Patel also urged calm in Jerusalem. “We emphasize the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem and any unilateral action that jeopardizes the status quo to us is unacceptable,” he said.
