JERUSALEM, Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened his Security Cabinet to develop a response to missile barrages from both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon as Israelis mark the Passover holiday.
The volley from Lebanon into northern Israel was the worst since the 2006 Hezbollah war – 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon Thursday afternoon, and 5 landed in Israel. The rest were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Two Israelis sustained light shrapnel wounds, according to The Times of Israel.
Earlier in the day, Palestinian terrorists fired more missiles toward Israel from the Gaza Strip after a volley launched on the eve of Passover, Wednesday. Most of the missiles Thursday exploded in the air and two landed in the sea, according to authorities.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Nasrallah sent a warning about Israel’s clashes with Palestinians on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, saying the group would support “all measures” taken by the Palestinians. So far, Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for the rockets from Lebanon, referring instead to Palestinian organizations based in southern Lebanon. Still, such an attack on Israel would require at least tacit approval from the most powerful group in the country.
Middle East experts told CBN News that Iran, and the Gaza terror groups typically inflame the situation at the Temple Mount, calling for resistance during the Ramadan and Passover holidays.
Direct escalation from Lebanon has been rare recently, however, and because the Shi’ite Hezbollah organization is an Iranian proxy, Israel must take the escalation seriously, given the acceleration of Iran’s nuclear enrichment timetable and Israel’s unwillingness to allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons.
Authorities in the northern city of Nahariya near the Lebanese border opened bomb shelters and sirens sounded in the Galilee following the rocket fire from Lebanon.
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