Israeli aircraft early Thursday morning targeted what the army said were rocket launch sites in southern Lebanon in response to the firing of two rockets from Lebanese territory towards Israel, marking an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid increasing tensions with Iran. Israel responded to the rocket fire with artillery fire amidst rising regional tensions stemming from allegations of an Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf last week. The two rockets fell on Wednesday in an uninhabited area in northern Israel, causing fires in the border region. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which originated from an area in southern Lebanon controlled by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
The army stated that Israel responded with multiple salvos of artillery fire on Wednesday before launching air strikes on Thursday morning. In a statement, the army said, "Fighter jets struck launch sites and infrastructure used for terrorism in Lebanon from which the rockets were fired." It added that it also targeted an area from which rockets had been launched in the past. Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported, "Israeli enemy aircraft executed two airstrikes targeting the Damascus area in the outskirts of the town of Mahmoudiyeh in southern Lebanon." There were no reports of casualties.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, speaking to Ynet TV, said, "This attack aims to convey a message... We are certainly capable of doing much more, and we hope we do not need to do that." Gantz indicated that he believed a Palestinian faction was responsible for launching the rockets. Small Palestinian factions in Lebanon have previously fired rockets at Israel.
The border incidents followed what is suspected to be a drone attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman last Thursday, for which Israel, the United States, and Britain blamed Iran. The incident resulted in the deaths of two crew members, a British national and a Romanian, while Iran denied any connection to the attack. The United States and Britain stated on Sunday that they would work with their allies to respond to the attack. Israel noted that it reserves the right to respond unilaterally if necessary.
