Israel strikes Hamas targets in Lebanon after Passover attacks
Israeli forces struck Hamas targets in Lebanon and Gaza Friday following a rocket attack on the Jewish nation as residents celebrated the Passover holiday.
The military response came early Friday morning as Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck targets located in southern Lebanon described as "terrorist infrastructures belonging to Hamas" after rocket fire rained down on cities in northern Israel earlier this week.
Israeli jet fighters hit 10 targets linked to Hamas in various parts of Gaza, including tunnels and arms manufacturing sites, according to Reuters.
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No casualties were reported. Officials say as many as 34 rockets were launched Thursday from Lebanon, 25 of which were intercepted.
The rocket attack marked the most significant escalation since 2006 when Israel went to war against the Lebanon-based Shia militant group Hezbollah.
Calling the latest escalation a "complex period," IDF Chief of the General Staff Hertzi Halevi said the IDF remains "strong and will continue to use force as much as necessary, against any enemy and in any arena, both during the holidays and during times of internal public debate."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF would continue working through the Passover holiday — which this year coincides with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan — to ensure Israel's security.
Early Friday, Netanyahu told reporters: "Our enemies are putting us to the test again. And once again, they will discover, even in this test, that we stand together, united, confident in our righteousness. And we will act together, with the complete backing of our forces, the IDF and the security forces, who work even on the holidays to ensure the security of our citizens and the security of our homeland."
IDF officials reported a shooting earlier Friday in the West Bank area, leaving two Israeli sisters dead and another wounded. Authorities also said an Italian tourist was killed and five others injured as a car rammed into tourists in Tel Aviv.
On Wednesday, more than 300 people were arrested or removed in a clash between Israeli police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the biblical site of the Temple Mount, the second such clash this week.
Less than 24 hours before that clash, masked protesters locked themselves inside the mosque and had to be removed by police.
"Israel's raid into Al-Aqsa mosque, its assault on worshippers, is a slap to recent U.S. efforts which tried to create calm and stability during the month of Ramadan," a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Reuters.
Palestinians accused Israeli forces of raiding the compound before prayers were over.
Israeli author and Bible teacher Amir Tsarfati said he does not believe Israel has any intention of taking over the Temple Mount, which is currently under Jordanian custodianship. He accused the hundreds of Palestinians of trying to provoke Israeli authorities by violating the rules of the Al-Asqa mosque and planning to stay their overnight.
"Every year, it's same. I don't understand why anyone around the world is buying this," Tsarfati said in a video posted to Twitter. "We have no business taking over the Temple Mount. When the Jewish temple will be built, there will be no Muslim opposition, trust me. ... Until then, all we want is for them to finish their prayers and go home."
Tsarfati accused the Palestinians of desecrating their own Temple Mount and "using it as a playground for political purposes."
"Now Hamas, as the 'guardian of Jerusalem,' fires rockets from Gaza. And today, just a few minutes ago, Hezbollah, must have joined them, as I am getting reports about interception above the border with Lebanon," he said. "It's a ritual every Ramadan that they use this month to creative provocations to create some sort of conflict in order to bring about the Palestinian issue back to the table. It has nothing to do with religious purposes."
Tsarfati said that he doesn't believe Israel will need to invade to take Al-Asqa from the Muslims. He cited the End Times war described by the prophet Ezekiel, which will ultimately pave the way for a third temple to be built.
"I believe that the earthquake that God will send at the end of the Ezekiel war will destroy everything and that will allow the Antichrist to allow Israel to build a temple," he said. "I don't think we need to invade and take anything from anybody."
He said the rockets flying in from Lebanon and Gaza represent "an inch before a war."
