IAF strikes target in Southern Lebanon
By JPOST.COM STAFF, 08/23/2013 04:49
The Israeli Air Force struck a target near Beirut in South Lebanon early on Friday morning, the IDF said in a statement.
The airstrike was made in response to rockets fired from Lebanon into Northern Israel on Thursday.
According to the statement, the strike was an exact strike and all of the pilots returned to Israel safely.
Additionally, Israel announced that the government holds Lebanon as responsible for the rocket fire that occurred on Thursday, even though a Sunni group called the Abdallah al-Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the rockets.
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/IAF-strikes-target-in-Southern-Lebanon-324024
Two rockets from Lebanon explode in Israel, Iron Dome intercepts third
By Gili Cohen , Barak Ravid and Eli Ashkenazi | Aug. 22, 2013 | 6:30 PM | 13
At least three rockets were fired on Israel from southern Lebanon on Thursday afternoon, Israel Defense Forces confirmed, setting off air raid sirens in the Nahariya and Acre areas.
One of the rockets was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said.
The army believes that global jihad operatives, and not Hezbollah, are behind the attacks.
It was not immediately clear exactly how many rockets were fired. The IDF identified a barrage of either three or four rockets fired from the Klayaa area, south of Tyre, Lebanon.
Mordechai said that "the IDF sees the incident as an isolated incident and thus no new home front instructions were issued."
Air traffic in the Haifa area was closed, but the IDF stressed this was not due to information on additional rocket fire, rather taken as a precautionary measure "until the situation becomes clear."
"We are acting on all fronts, in the north and in the south, to defend the citizens of Israel from such attacks," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Thursday evening, referring also to the Syrian civil war, where reports have emerged of large-scale chemical warfare, and to the ongoing unrest in Egypt. "We employ various measures, both defensive and preventive, and we are acting responsibly. Our policy is clear: to protect and to prevent. Whoever tries to harm us should know we will harm them."
Following the attack, Lebanon's official news agency reported that Israel Air Force drones were circling the area from which the rockets were believed to have emerged.
Home Front Command officers emphasized that when sirens are sounded, civilians must enter bomb shelters and remain there for 10 minutes.
Adar Sharif, a resident of the Western Galilee, told Haaretz he had heard two loud explosions, which sounded like Katyusha rockets, but could not say where they hit. "Since then, my family and I have been staying in a shelter, awaiting official instructions."
Seven houses and three cars sustained damage when debris fell in a village north of Nahariya. "I was in the living room, when I heard the boom and rushed to the secure space," Avril, a resident of the village told Haaretz, after her house was damaged by shrapnel. "Its scary for a second, but then the adrenalin makes you function fast." She added "you're always afraid. We've already experienced similar events and even worse. I hope it won't be an ongoing event."
Eleven-year-old Ben Levy who lives nearby said that he wasn't in the house, and that he and his friend immediately lay down on the ground, as they were drilled in school. "I saw the Katyusha pass above me and after the fall, I ran to the secure space, because I feared there would be more. I hope quiet returns."
Avi Gini, another resident, said that the rocket woke him up from his nap. "I'm really angry at them," he said jokingly, adding that "we really don't know what to expect. The whole Middle East is in turmoil."
Yehuda Shavit, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council said that the village was hit by a Katyusha, while residents said it seemed to be a motar bomb or parts of an Iron Dome intercepting rocket.
The shrapnel hit electric lines, causing a power failure in the village.
Jacky Sabag, the Mayor of Nahariya said that he didn't receive orders to open shelters, but decided to declare them open anyway so that residents would have an extra sense of security.
On Tuesday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, "For the past while the borders have been relatively quiet, but there are no guarantees. The Middle East is hot and turbulent, whether among the extremist Islamic movements or the spread of global jihad."
Two weeks ago, four IDF soldiers were injured in an explosion near the Lebanese border. According to a statement made by the Lebanese army the incident took place on the Lebanese side of the border.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.543066