(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- In response to Israel’s airstrikes into Lebanon on early Thursday morning, last Friday Hezbollah responded by firing dozens of rockets into Israel.
Friday’s rocket attack was the latest escalation in the hostilities along the Israel/Lebanon border which began last Wednesday after three rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, making this round of hostilities the most sustained fighting between Israel and Hezbollah since the one-month war in 2006.
In taking credit for the latest attack, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah reported that it fired rockets near Israeli positions in the disputed region of Shebaa Farms north of the Golan Heights. Israeli military quickly responded, firing artillery at the launch sites in southern Lebanon.
Most of the rockets from Friday’s attack were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system while the rest landed in open areas. Israel reported no damage or casualties from the Hezbollah rocket attack.
The United Nations warned that any further escalation in the region was “very dangerous.”
A source in Lebanese security said Friday’s rockets were launched from the al-Arqoub area near the Lebanese town of Shebaa.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun called Israel’s retaliatory strikes a direct threat to the security and stability of Southern Lebanon, adding that Israel violated UN Security Council resolutions. Of course Aoun had no similar condemnations for the initial rocket attacks from Lebanon last Wednesday.
While Hezbollah claimed credit for Friday’s rocket attack, the group did not claim credit for the initial attack launched on Wednesday.
The Hezbollah attack comes on the heels of Iranian-linked attacks on ships in the region. In late July a suspected drone attack on an Israeli-linked tanker in the Gulf of Oman left two crewmen dead.
Last week, hijackers boarded the tanker Asphalt Princess in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. According to those briefed on the incident, five or six armed Iranian commandos raided the vessel and attempted to divert it to an Iranian port. The hijacking was foiled when the crew sabotaged the engine. This allowed US and Omani warships time to catch up with the vessel – prompting the commandos to flee.
No official accusation of responsibility has been made in the Asphalt Princess incident and Tehran has denied any involvement.
