PLUMES OF SMOKE
The worsening security situation adds a further complication for Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist government, which has faced mass protests over its now suspended plans to curb the powers of the Supreme Court.
However, opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government could count on cross-party support following the rocket attack and Netanyahu said Israelis stood behind the security forces.
“The internal debate in Israel will not prevent us from taking action against them wherever and whenever necessary. All of us, without exception, are united on this,” Netanyahu said.
In the aftermath of Thursday’s rocket attack, TV footage showed large plumes of smoke rising above the northern Israeli border town of Shlomi, with wrecked cars in the streets. Israel Airports Authority said it had closed the northern airports in Haifa and Rosh Pina.
“I’m shaking, I’m in shock,” Liat Berkovitch Kravitz told Israel’s Channel 12 news, speaking from a fortified room in her house in Shlomi. “I heard a boom, it was as if it exploded inside the room.”
The Israeli military said mortar shells were also fired across the border.
In a statement, the United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon (UNIFIL) described the situation as “extremely serious” and urged restraint. UN officials said the UN was in contact with the parties involved to try to de-escalate the situation.
Amid fears that the confrontation could spiral further following a year of rising Israeli-Palestinian violence, the UN Security Council held a closed door meeting to discuss the crisis.
“It’s going to be important for everyone to do what they can to calm tensions,” U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, told reporters on his way into the meeting.
Thursday’s attack followed a number of rocket launches towards Israel from Gaza, most of which were intercepted. Israel responded to the launches with airstrikes on sites linked to Hamas, which it holds responsible for any attacks from the blockaded coastal strip.
Speaking from Gaza, Mohammad Al-Braim, spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, praised the rocket strikes from Lebanon, which he linked to the Al-Aqsa incidents, but did not claim responsibility.
He said “no Arab and no Muslim would keep silent while (Al-Aqsa) is being raided in such a savage and barbaric way without the enemy paying the price for its aggression.”
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