2023 Israel–Lebanon shellings | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and the Israeli–Lebanese conflict | |||||||
Israel−Lebanon border | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ziyad al-Nakhalah | Yoav Gallant | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 Israeli civilians injured |
On 6 April 2023, dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, wounding 3 Israeli civilians. [2] The Israel government alleged that the rockets were fired by Palestinian factions Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with Hezbollah's approval. [3]
In the morning of 7 April, the Israeli Air Force struck targets in Tyre, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip in retaliation. [4]
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the situation as "extremely serious" and urged restraint. It said UNIFIL chief Aroldo Lazaro was in contact with authorities on both sides. [5]
The attacks were the largest escalation between Lebanon and Israel since the 2006 Lebanon War and until the 2023 Israel–Lebanon border clashes. [3]
Palestinian refugees have had a long presence in Southern Lebanon, with it being often used as a center to launch rockets into northern Israel. A state of heightened tension existed between Israel and Hamas following the 2023 Al-Aqsa clashes. [3]
On 6 April 2023, dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, wounding 3 Israeli civilians. [2] The Israel Defense Forces has said that it has intercepted 25 rockets fired from Lebanon. [2] Warning sirens had sounded in the town of Shlomi and in Betzet in northern Israel. [2] According to Israel, the rockets were fired by Palestinian factions Hamas and PIJ with Hezbollah's approval. [3]
On the early morning of 7 April, the Israeli Air Force retaliated by striking targets in Tyre, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip. [6]
In a written statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the situation as "extremely serious" and urged restraint. It said UNIFIL chief Aroldo Lazaro was in contact with authorities on both sides. [7] The attacks are the largest escalation between the two countries since the 2006 Lebanon War. [3]
Hezbollah was alleged by Israel to have given permission for Hamas to fire the rockets, [8] however, Israeli airstrikes did not target Hezbollah positions and Hezbollah has insisted that it will not get involved in "local attacks" by Israel in Lebanon. [9]
Reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War came from states on all continents, supranational bodies, individuals and international NGOs, as well as political lobbyists in the United States.
International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrike, which saw the greatest loss of civilian life in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, twenty eight deaths with thirteen missing, largely involved the condemnation of Israel by many countries around the globe, bringing about a supposed 48 hours cessation of air operations by the Israeli Air Force. Bombings resumed only a few hours after the start of the cessation of air operations.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War. The resolution calls for a full cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon to be replaced by Lebanese and UNIFIL forces deploying to southern Lebanon, and the disarmament of armed groups including Hezbollah, with no armed forces other than UNIFIL and Lebanese military south of the Litani River, which flows about 29 km (18 mi) north of the border. It emphasizes Lebanon's need to fully exert government control and calls for efforts to address the unconditional release of abducted Israeli soldiers.
In 2008 the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Hot Winter, also called Operation Warm Winter, in the Gaza Strip, starting on February 29, 2008 in response to Qassam rockets fired from the Strip by Hamas onto Israeli civilians. At least 112 Palestinian militants and civilians, along with three Israelis, were killed, and more than 150 Palestinians and seven Israelis were injured.
The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict beginning in 1948, when 200,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes, settling in the Gaza Strip as refugees. Since then, Israel has been involved in about 15 wars against the Gaza Strip. The number of Gazans reportedly killed in the ongoing 2023–2024 war (37,000) is higher than the death toll of all other wars of the Arab–Israeli conflict.
The 2010 Israel–Lebanon border clash occurred on August 3, 2010, between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF), after an IDF team attempted to cut down a tree on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, near the Israeli kibbutz of Misgav Am and the Lebanese village of Odaisseh. A high-ranking IDF officer was killed and another wounded when LAF snipers opened fire on an Israeli observation post after receiving authorization from senior Lebanese commanders. IDF soldiers returned fire and responded with artillery shelling and airstrikes on Lebanese positions, killing two Lebanese soldiers and Al Akhbar correspondent Assaf Abu Rahhal, as well as wounding five soldiers and one journalist. This was the most serious escalation on the border since the 2006 Lebanon War.
The Sha'ar HaNegev school bus attack was a missile attack on 7 April 2011, in which Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Kornet laser-guided anti-tank missile over the border at an Israeli school bus, killing a schoolboy.
Reactions to the 2014 Gaza War came from around the world.
Reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War coming from the European countries.
The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
Events in the year 2023 in Lebanon.
A series of violent confrontations occurred between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem in April 2023. After the evening Ramadan prayer, Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque, prompted by reports that Jews planned to sacrifice a goat at the site. In response, Israeli police raided the mosque in riot gear, injuring 50 people and arresting at least 400.
Following clashes at Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, many rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, Southern Lebanon, and Syria by Palestinian militants. This led to the bombing of these areas by the IDF.
On 7 October 2023, a large escalation of the Gaza–Israel conflict began with a coordinated offensive by multiple Palestinian militant groups against Israel. A number of countries, including many of Israel's Western allies, such as the United States and a number of European countries, condemned the attacks by Hamas, expressed solidarity for Israel and stated that Israel has a right to defend itself from armed attacks, while countries of the Muslim world have expressed support for the Palestinians, blaming the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as being the root cause for the escalation of violence. The events prompted several world leaders to announce their intention to visit Israel, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Exchange of strikes between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been occurring along the Israel–Lebanon border and in Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 8 October 2023. It is currently the largest escalation of the Hezbollah–Israel conflict to have occurred since the 2006 Lebanon War, and part of the spillover of the Israel–Hamas war.
The Majdal Shams attack, also known as the Majdal Shams massacre, took place on 27 July 2024, when a rocket hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The resulting blast killed 12 Syrian children and young adults belonging to the Druze community and injured at least 42 others, with most of the victims being between the ages of 10 and 16.