Following rocket fire, Israel strikes Lebanon and Gaza

Israeli airstrikes in Israel spark a tension between the Palestinians and the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip on Friday, prompting fears of a broader conflict

JERUSALEM — Israel conducted rare airstrikes in Lebanon on Friday, a sharp escalation that sparked fears of a broader conflict after militants fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip.

Israeli missiles struck an open field near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh, close to the coastal southern city of Tyre, according to an Associated Press photographer. Other strikes hit a small bridge and power transformer in the nearby town of Maaliya and a flock of sheep in the town of Qalili, on the outskirts of the Palestinian camp. The residents of the town, which has a large population of Syrian refugees, reported a number of minor injuries.

‘”I was sleeping and suddenly I couldn’t feel anything except the impact,” said Qalili resident Majid Abdelsattar. The strikes, he said, damaged his parents’ house and the family’s citrus orchard. The military in Lebanon said it found a rocket on Friday, after dismantling several others the day before.

The current wave of violence began after Israeli police raided the Al Aqsa Mosque twice. Thursday’s rocket fire from Gaza and the bombardment from Lebanon were caused by that.

Police did not comment on the earlier beatings and said security forces entered the holy compound after prayers in response to “masked suspects” throwing rocks at officers.

The confrontation between Palestinians and the Israeli police could reignite tensions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when there is heightened religious fervor.

The Israeli military said it was clear that both sides wanted to avoid a full-blown conflict. The Israeli military spokesman told reporters early Friday that quiet would be answered. “All our eyes are on Jerusalem,” he said.

The Israeli military said on Friday that Palestinian militants in Gaza had so far fired 44 rockets from Gaza, only 23 of which crossed into Israeli territory. The others either failed to launch, fell into the Mediterranean Sea, or were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defense system, the military said. In Sderot a missile damaged a house, one of the missiles that hit open areas in Israel’s south. There were no Israeli casualties.

Israeli Defense Forces shot and killed one Palestinian and seven others injured in a car-ramming attack on the Golan Heights on Saturday night

“This is not the first time that health facilities have been targeted, and it is unacceptable,” the ministry said of the damage to Al Dorra Pediatric Hospital.

“Israel’s response, tonight and beyond, will extract a heavy price from our enemies,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after his Security Cabinet meeting late Thursday.

Tensions have simmered along the Lebanese border in recent weeks as Israel appears to have ratcheted up its shadow war against Iranian-linked targets in Syria, another close ally of Iran, Israel’s archenemy in the region.

In Jerusalem, even as calm returned to at Al-Aqsa a few hours after the burst of violence, the situation remained tense ahead of midday Friday prayers.

The Israel Defense Forces said that one landed in the southern Golan Heights. The IDF said that it didn’t have to intercept the rockets.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed the narrow strip of land in 1981. The Golan Heights are considered occupied territory under international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health says that the Israeli Defense Forces shot and killed a Palestinian in the West Bank town of Azzoun on Saturday night.

“Following routine activity, multiple suspects hurled an explosive device towards IDF soldiers at town of Azzun,” the IDF said in a statement. Soldiers responded “with live ammunition towards them” and a person was hit, the statement added. No IDF soldiers were injured, according to the statement.

On Friday, one person was killed and seven others injured in a car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv. Police said that the car was driven by a 45-year-old resident of Kfar Kasem, a predominantly Arab city east of Tel Aviv.

The victim was identified by Israeli and Italian authorities as Alessandro Parini. Italian media said he was a 35-year-old lawyer. Israeli authorities described the incident as a “terror attack.”