Hezbollah rocket intercepted over Kiryat Shmona
(Esther Yaakobi)
Hezbollah launched a barrage of 30 rockets at Israel on Friday, targeting the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, on the third day of heavy fire directed at Israel's north. No injuries were reported but fires broke out in the city and surrounding areas.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was in response to an IDF strike on the area of Tyre in South Lebanon late on Thursday. Two women were killed in shelling from Israeli naval vessels on a building used by Hezbollah operatives. Lebanese media said at least 20 people were injured.
As the attacks across the Israel-Lebanon border continue to escalate, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his country was renewing its commitment to UN resolution 1701. The resolution which was passed at the end of the 2006 war, stated Hezbollah forces would remain north of the Litani River and away from the border with Israel.
Since it was passed in the UN Security Council, Hezbollah has violated the deal and the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL, deployed to the area, failed to enforce the resolution, allowing the Iran-backed terror group to entrench its forces in villages bordering Israel, which are now used as launching pads for attacks.
Mikati accused Israel of "destructive aggression and terrorism," in its response to Hezbollah's attacks on the north
The commander of the IDF's Northern Command said it was a mistake to evacuate residents from the border region. Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, said in a meeting with residents, that removing tens of thousands of civilians from the north was Hezbollah's greatest strategic achievement.
Gordin said the IDF had destroyed all of the known front positions of the terror group and was will prepared to prevent an infiltration over land by Hezbollah's elite Radwan force.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant rejected an initiative promoted by French President Emmanuel Macron for France, the United States and Israel to form a contact group to work on defusing tensions on the northern border. "As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel," Gallant said in a statement. "Israel will not be a party to the trilateral framework proposed by France."