Jerusalem (CNN) Dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said, in a major development that comes amid tensions over Israeli police attacks on al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
It was the biggest attack since a 2006 war between the two countries that left about 1,200 Lebanese people and 165 Israelis dead.
Israel closed its northern airspace after the barrage. No deaths were reported as of Thursday afternoon, and it was not yet known which Lebanese group launched the rockets.
Videos posted on social media showed rockets streaking across the sky over northern Israel, and the sounds of explosions in the distance.
The Lebanese army told CNN it has no information to release publicly; the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah told CNN it would not comment at this time. The incident occurred a day after the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Beirut for meetings with Hezbollah officials.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “received continuous updates on the security situation and will conduct an assessment of the heads of the security establishment.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was also briefed on “recent security events on Israel’s northern border,” the defense ministry said.
Tensions are high in the region after Israeli police stormed the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on two separate occasions on Wednesday, as Palestinian worshipers prayed during the holy month of Ramadan.
Footage from inside the mosque showed Israeli officers beating people with their batons and rifle-butts, then arresting hundreds of Palestinians. Israeli police said they entered the mosque after “hundreds of rioters” tried to barricade themselves inside.
The incident, which was met with widespread condemnation from the Arab and Muslim world, sparked retaliatory rocket fire from Gaza into Israel.
There have been several small rocket attacks from Lebanon in recent years that have prompted retaliatory strikes from Israel. Few casualties have been reported in the incidents, with the highest number killed in an exchange of fire in 2015 that left two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper dead. Palestinian factions in Lebanon are believed to be behind the rocket attacks.
The 2006 conflict was the largest flare-up between Lebanon and Israel since 1982. About 1,200 Lebanese people and 165 Israelis died in an exchange of fire involving a nationwide Israeli aerial assault, and a naval and aerial blockade. Hezbollah fired several rockets that reached deep into Israeli territory during the conflict. =
This is a developing story, more to follow…
Mia Alberti and Ghazi Balkiz contributed to this report.
