Michael Cardinal, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
Israel conducted air strikes early Thursday morning, targeting rocket launch pads in Lebanon in response to three rockets which were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel earlier on Wednesday.
The rockets did not cause any casualties as they were either intercepted by their Iron Dome, which is Israel’s anti-rocket defense system, or struck unpopulated areas. The Israeli army initially responded on Wednesday with heavy artillery fire before conducting the air raid around 2 am Thursday morning. This was the first air attack that Israel has carried out in Lebanon territory since 2006.
Lebanon also reported there were no casualties from the incident and that the strikes had hit unpopulated areas but Lebanon President Michael Aoun claimed that the attack showed “aggressive intent” and violated UN guidelines. No one has yet taken credit for the attempted rocket strikes but it is suspected that Hezbollah may be behind the attack.
Lebanon currently operates under a shaky government as Lebanese Prime Minister–designate Saad Hariri is still trying to form a cabinet to be accepted by Aoun. Hezbollah, an Iranian backed terrorist organization, holds a large number of seats in Lebanon’s parliament which has historically led to strain between the two countries.
Not only is rocket fire from Lebanon at Israeli civilians an act of terrorism, it also is indicative of the Lebanese government's lack of governance of terrorist organizations operating in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government is responsible for all attacks from Lebanon.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 4, 2021
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said, “This was an attack meant to send a message … Clearly we could do much more, and we hope we won’t arrive at that.”
The conflict follows close on the heels of an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas and as tensions escalate between Israel and Iran, providing further instability in the region.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned the Lebanese attacks and reaffirmed that “Israel has the right to defend itself against such attacks.”