Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, which were said to be targeting the Palestinian group Hamas.
The Israeli army said the bombardment in the early hours of Friday was in response to a barrage of rockets fired by Hamas in Lebanon the day before. Separately, it is targeting overnight the besieged Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas.
Fire rocks came after Israeli police attacked Palestinian worshipers in central Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second night in a row this week.
Here is what you need to know.
What has happened?
The Israeli military tweeted on Thursday that 34 airports had been fired from Lebanon, while 25 were intercepted, and at least four landed in Israel. It was the first rocket from Lebanon towards Israel since last April and it was the biggest launch since Israel and Lebanon’s powerful Shia Hezbollah movement fought a war in 2006.
Doctors in Israel said three people were injured in the rocket fire, including a 19-year-old man with shrapnel injuries in mild condition and a 60-year-old woman injured while running to the nearest shelter. Several others were treated for concussion.
The Israeli army announced in a brief statement at 4:07am (01:07 GMT) on Friday that it was “currently striking in Lebanon”. A Lebanese TV station reported explosions near a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern city of Tyre.
No coincidences were reported, and most of the weapons fell in the open spaces.
The Lebanese government said its forces and United Nations peacekeepers were conducting an investigation to find the perpetrators.
On Friday, the Lebanese army said that a rocket launcher was located among several rocks in the town of Marjaajoun, near the border with Israel.
Who fired the fans?
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire, which came amid attacks by Israeli forces on Palestinian worshipers at Al-Aqsa this week, leading to regional and global condemnation of Israel.
The Israeli army said it believed the rocket fire was a “Palestinian-directed incident”, linking it to the violence in Jerusalem.
Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht said either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both of which are based in Gaza but also operate in Lebanon, could get involved. The army adds that it believes Hezbollah and the Lebanese government know what happened and also hold responsibility.
Separately, another army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, wrote on Twitter, “We are investigating the possibility of Iran’s involvement in the rocket fire from Lebanon,” Adraee added on Twitter.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are Iranian allies and recently reported joint operations.
But Hamas representative in Lebanon Ahmed Abdel Hadi told the Lebanese An-Nahar newspaper the group does not have “any information about the rockets” that were launched towards Israel.
“Security sources say Palestinian groups – many of whom are armed and locked up in camps – are behind the incident,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported from Tyre.
“Some speculators say they can’t do it without Hezbollah’s knowledge and support,” he said, noting that the Lebanese group “dominates” in the south of the country.
Mohanad Hage Ali, Middle East Center Carnegie Center, told Al Jazeera that in recent years, “a large number of Hamas officials and agents have been shown in Lebanon and also in a way [have] Beirut as their disgraceful presence”.
Al Jazeera reached out to several Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian Islamic State group, but could not get a comment.
A Lebanese security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the country’s security forces believe the missiles were launched by a Lebanon-based Palestinian armed group, not a. Hezbollah.
Could it be about someone else?
The proliferation came after Israel in recent weeks launched its airstrikes against Iranian targets in neighboring Syria.
The Iranian government, in a rare admission, said last week that two of its military advisers had been killed in an Israeli attack near Damascus and said it reserved the right to respond at the appropriate time.
There have also been other issues recently that have increased tensions, including the alleged infiltration of an armed man suspected of entering Israel from Lebanon last month and driving a car to the compound according to the Israeli army.
What’s going on?
Hezbollah did not condemn the rocket fire. Its ambassador, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said on Twitter that the group was “vigilant” after Thursday’s exchange of fire over the Lebanon-Israel border.
However, Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned that a Lebanese agent would be used against Lebanese territory for acts that could threaten security in the country.
“Lebanon absolutely rejects any military escalation emanating from its country, and the use of Lebanese territory to carry out operations that can stabilize the existing stability,” said Mikati.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a tough response.
“We will strike our enemies and they will pay the price for any wrong,” he said at the start of a security cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, Iran has condemned Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Gaza and called on international bodies to take action, according to state media.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the ministry “vehemently condemned the attack … as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a gross violation of international law and the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people, and called for an effective response by world bodies …,” state media said. .
