After new rocket attacks from Syria, the Israeli army said it attacked targets in the hostile neighboring country during the night. According to the military, a total of six rockets have been fired from Syrian territory at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since Saturday evening. Some were hit in open areas and one was intercepted by air defenses.
According to military sources, the Israeli air force fired at the Syrian rocket launchers that fired the rockets during the night. In addition, the Israeli Air Force announced that it had hit a military site belonging to the Syrian army, as well as radar systems and artillery posts used by the army. Israel’s attacks on several locations in the south of the country caused property damage, Syria’s state news agency Sana reported. Several missiles from the neighboring country were intercepted.
Missiles from Lebanon
Heavy rocket fire from Lebanon hit Israel on Thursday. Israel blamed the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas for the attacks and then launched aerial attacks on militant Palestinian bases in the neighboring country to the north and in the Gaza Strip. Numerous rockets were also fired at Israel from the Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean Sea.
Lebanese Acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati said an army investigation found “non-Lebanese elements” fired the rockets at Israel. However, Israeli experts assume that the Hezbollah militia controls all processes in the south of the country.
Despite the intensified security situation in Israel, there were renewed protests against the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing religious government on Saturday evening. Tens of thousands demonstrated in the coastal city of Tel Aviv and other cities against the controversial judicial reform. They lit candles and observed a minute’s silence to commemorate the victims of two attacks.
Israel tightens security measures after two attacks
On Friday evening, an Italian tourist was killed and seven other tourists injured in an attack near the Tel Aviv beach promenade. Two Israeli sisters were killed and their mother critically injured in an attack in the West Bank on Friday morning.
Israel increased security measures during the Jewish Passover holiday in light of the incidents. Acting Defense Minister Joav Galant ordered the military to reinforce the police force. He also extended an entry ban for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip until Wednesday evening.
According to media reports, around 1,000 Jews visited the Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem’s Old City. The facility is under Muslim administration, while Israel is responsible for security. The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. However, it is also sacred to Jews because two Jewish temples used to stand there.
Recently there had been violent clashes between the police and Palestinians. Several Arab countries had criticized Israel’s actions. Israeli radio reported that hundreds of Muslims again barricaded themselves in the al-Aqsa mosque overnight. Israel has asked Jordan to help remove them with the help of the Muslim administration. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was extremists who wanted to riot.
