Lebanon fires barrage of rockets after clashes at al-Aqsa mosque

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Israel said Thursday that it had intercepted rocket fire from Lebanon following clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians inside Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque. The violence inside Islam’s third-holiest site had led to warnings of retaliation from around the region. Israel also denied Lebanese reports that it had carried out retaliatory strikes against the attack.

Dozens of rockets were fired from southern Lebanon on Thursday afternoon and 25 of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system over northern Israel, the military said. At least three people were injured and several buildings were damaged.

The Israel Defence Forces said 34 rockets had been fired toward the border with five landing inside Israel, and most of the rest were downed. The impact sites of four other rockets were not clearly known.

It was the first time since the 2006 war when a barrage of so many rockets has been fired on Israel from Lebanon. In August 2021, Hezbollah had fired 19 rockets at northern Israel

One man is said to be injured in the attack by shrapnel and another woman is also wounded.Israeli media reported that a “salvo” of projectiles had been fired by Lebanon. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Warning sirens were sounded in the town of Shlomi and in Moshav Betzet and the Galilee in northern Israel.

The rocket fire happened amid high tensions after Israeli police clashed with Palestinians inside the al-Aqsa mosque early on Wednesday and again in the evening.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that he was “receiving continuous updates about the security situation and will conduct an assessment with the heads of the security establishment.”

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant was also briefed on the details of the rockets being fired.The minister will soon conduct a situation assessment with senior officials in the defence establishment,” a ministry spokesman said.

No group claimed responsibility for the assault and the Al-Arabiya network cited a source in Hezbollah as saying that it was not behind the rocket fire and apparently put the blame on Palestinian groups in the area.What happened in al-Aqsa mosque?

Before dawn on Wednesday, armed police in riot gear stormed the prayer hall of al-Aqsa mosque to remove “law-breaking youths and masked agitators” who had supposedly barricaded themselves inside.The violence occurred during both the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. An exchange of rockets and air strikes with militants in the Gaza Strip ensued.