A heavy barrage of rockets was fired at Israel from Lebanon Thursday, the military claimed, in a move that followed violent Israeli police raids targeting Palestinians worshipping at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Israeli military said 34 rockets had been fired across the border, forcing people across Israel's northern frontier into bomb shelters, wounding at least two people.
The military said 25 of the rockets were shot down by its Iron Dome aerial defense system. Another five rockets struck Israeli territory and the rest of the strikes were being investigated, security forces added.
The unusually large salvo of rockets raised fears of a wider conflagration, as Israel's bitter enemy, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, holds sway over much of southern Lebanon.
Over the past two days, tensions have skyrocketed after Israeli forces stormed the sacred compound home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and targeted Palestinians worshipping inside, and along Israel's tense border with Gaza Strip.
The army's response would come after "a situational assessment" and meeting by Israel’s Security Cabinet later Thursday, the military said.
Lebanon rejects 'escalation' from its soil
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday that the country "refuses any escalation from its territory," condemning the barrage of rockets fired toward Israel from its soil.
Mikati said in a statement that Lebanon "rejects the use of its territory to carry out operations that destabilize the situation," after Israel threatened to retaliate against Palestinian groups it accused of the attack.
No group in Lebanon claimed responsibility for the salvo of rockets, which set off air raid sirens across the country’s north.
Earlier Thursday and late Wednesday night, Palestinian groups in the blockaded Gaza Strip allegedly fired several rockets toward Israel in protest over the Israeli police storming into the Al-Aqsa Mosque with tear gas and stun grenades.
On Thursday, Hezbollah condemned Israel’s storming of Al-Aqsa, calling it "a flagrant violation."
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents Islam's third-holiest site. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
A Lebanese security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said the country's security forces believed the rockets were launched by a Lebanon-based Palestinian group, not by Hezbollah militants.
Both Israel and Hezbollah have avoided an all-out conflict since their 34-day war in 2006 ended with a draw.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed an "aggressive response" after the rocket attacks.
"We will strike our enemies and they will pay a price for every act of aggression," Netanyahu said in a statement late Thursday.
He said Israelis remain united in the face of external enemies despite their domestic political divisions. Netanyahu was forced to pause a judicial reform law after facing massive protests, which some officials said would bring the country to the brink of civil war.
On Wednesday night, Israeli police raided Al-Aqsa, firing stun grenades and rubber bullets to forcibly remove worshippers. Palestinians hurled stones at officers. After a few hours of scuffles that left a trail of damage, police dragged everyone out of the compound.
On Tuesday night, the same tensions ended with police fiercely beating Palestinians and arresting over 400 people. Israeli authorities control access to the area, but Islamic and Jordanian officials administer the compound.
The violence at the site has resonated across the region, with condemnations pouring in from Muslim leaders.
The incidents, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover, come amid fears tensions built up during a year of escalating violence could be unleashed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where clashes in 2021 set off a 10-day war in Gaza.