Rocket fire escalated further after initial violence at a Jerusalem holy site this week.
The IDF did not provide data on its targets in Lebanon, but said they targeted tunnels and weapons sites in the Gaza Strip.
ISRAEL LAUNCHES AIRSTRIKES ON HAMAS TUNNELS, WEAPONS SITES IN GAZA STRIP
Smoke and flames increase Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 7, 2023. (REUTERS/Ashraf Amra)
A Lebanese television channel reported explosions in the southern port city of Tyre. The city is located about 20 miles from Israel’s northern border.
At a briefing Friday morning, IDF foreign spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said the airstrikes in Lebanon basically landed in Rashidieh Domain and Al-Kalila village, the domain from where the rockets were launched on Thursday.
No casualties were reported on the Lebanese side, he said.
Hecht said Israel looks forward to a day without violence when worshippers gather in Jerusalem.
“All eyes are on Jerusalem [and] we look forward to a quiet day of prayers,” he said. “No one is climbing right now. “
The spokesman said that “there will be talk of calm through calm” and that “nothing has happened since the last hour. “
Hecht also summarized the rocket fire from Gaza, saying that 44 rockets were launched into southern Israel from Gaza.
One of the rockets hit a space in Sderot while a woman and her daughter were inside. They were injured, he said.
Eight of the rockets were intercepted through the IDF’s missile defense system, while 14 fell in an open area, 12 fell into the sea and nine fell in the Gaza Strip.
He said the Israeli Air Force responded with new strikes against Hamas targets and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, adding an underground weapons structure site, 3 other weapons workshops and a terror tunnel.
Smoke and flames increase Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on April 7, 2023. (REUTERS/Ashraf Amra)
Smoke and flames increase Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, April 6, 2023. (REUTERS/Bashar Talib)
The IDF provided additional details.
The wave of violence began Wednesday with an incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, where many worshippers gathered.
Israeli police said the agitators used stones and fireworks, rioting at the scene. They also barricaded themselves in the structure, police said.
Fire and smoke following an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
An Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, April 7, 2023 triggered a wave of fire and smoke. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
The Israeli army scored goals in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
ISRAELI WARPLANES SEIZE HAMAS WEAPONS FACILITY AFTER VIOLENCE, 350 ARRESTED AT JERUSALEM HOLY SITE
Israeli officials raided the mosque and arrested more than 350 people.
Some Palestinians questioned the occasions and said the police raid was the existing violence.
Wednesday’s incursion led to rocket fire from Gaza on Thursday. And, in a significant escalation, a barrage of nearly 3 dozen rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel.
The fighting comes amid a devout sensitivity to Muslims and Jews as celebrations of Passover and the holy month of Ramadan take place. The exchange of blows also comes as an escalation in 2021 turned into an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, a terror organization that regulates Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet on Thursday as the Israeli military attacked 4 Hamas-owned sites in Gaza.
ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU AGREES TO HALT JUDICIAL REFORM FOR NOW AS MASS PROTESTS CONTINUE
After the hour-long meeting, Netanyahu’s workplace issued a message suggesting attacks would be carried out.
“Israel’s response, tonight and beyond, will take a heavy toll on our enemies,” Netanyahu said. He elaborated.
Smoke billows from a chimney after rockets fired from Lebanon hit Bezet, in northern Israel, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Fadi Amun)
Smoke billows from a chimney after rockets fired from Lebanon hit Bezet, in northern Israel, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Fadi Amun)
“The (Israel Defense Forces) will allow the Hamas terror organization to operate from Lebanon and will hold the Lebanese state guilty for any direct attack emanating from its territory,” the IDF said in a statement, Reuters reported.
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The most recent airstrikes came after militants in Lebanon fired some 34 rockets into Israel, forcing sirens across Israel’s northern border while others sought shelter in bomb shelters. The attacks wounded at least two other people.
Fox News’ Paul Best and The Associated Press contributed to this report.