Israel wasted no time in conducting retaliatory airstrikes on targets in Lebanon and continued bombarding the Gaza Strip on Friday in response to terror rocket strikes against the Jewish state.
As Breitbart News reported, on Thursday night Hamas terrorists based in Lebanon fired nearly three dozen rockets into Israel.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is currently in Lebanon.
In a statement, the IDF recorded 34 rockets were fired, with 25 intercepted by the Aerial Defense array, while five landed in Israeli territory. Another four rocket launches were “under review.”
This picture taken early on April 7, 2023 shows explosions in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian enclave. (AFP via Getty Images)
Palestinians inspect an area hit by Israeli airstrikes, on April 07, 2023 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty)
“Following the rocket fire from Lebanon and sensitivity of recent and upcoming events, the IDF is currently conducting a calm and focused security assessment on the nature of these events,” IDF international spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hect wrote on Twitter. “We are prepared to face any threat and ready for all operational scenarios.”
Israel’s response was swift and directed at specific terrorist aggressors.
The Israeli Air Force said its warplanes struck Hamas targets including a shaft to an underground weapons production site, a tunnel and three weapons production locations, within the Gaza Strip — a Palestinian-controlled enclave that borders southern Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, UPI reports.
Israel holds Iran-backed Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, responsible for all actions from Gaza.
“This attack constitutes an injury to the ability of the terrorist organizations Hamas to strengthen and arm itself,” the Israeli Air Force said in a statement. “The terrorist organization Hamas bears responsibility for what happened and is the one who will pay the price for the security violations against the State of Israel.”
Palestinians inspect an area hit by Israeli airstrikes, on April 07, 2023 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks on Gaza and Lebanon were made during a meeting of his cabinet.
“Israel’s response, tonight and later, will exact a significant price from our enemies,” he tweeted, hinting at further action to come.
Hours earlier Netanyahu had warned that Israel “will cripple our enemies and they will pay a price for any aggression.”