JERUSALEM: Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip and Lebanon before dawn on Friday, saying it was targeting Palestinian militant group Hamas in retaliation for several dozen rockets fired at Israel from both territories.
Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip and Lebanon before dawn on Friday, saying it was targeting Palestinian militant group Hamas in retaliation for several dozen rockets fired at Israel from both territories. It was the biggest salvo fired from Lebanon since Israel fought a devastating 34-day war with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in 2006 and the first time Israel has confirmed an attack on Lebanese territory since April 2022. The bombardment was launched around 4 am (0100 GMT), hitting both the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon, an Israeli army statement said.
Two Israeli women were killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank on Friday, just hours after Israel bombarded Gaza and Lebanon following rocket fire by Palestinian militants.The broadening of the conflict since Israeli police clashed with Palestinians inside Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque drew appeals for restraint from the international community but the Israel army vowed it would not allow Palestinian factions to open a new front in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed his country's enemies would "pay a price" following a barrage of rockets from Lebanon that was blamed on Palestinian groups.