Israeli planes strike near Beirut after rocket fire from Lebanon
Published August 23, 2013
(JTA) — Israel Air Force bombers launched a pinpoint strike near Beirut in response to rocket fire.
Planes bombed a “ terrorist target” between the Lebanese capital and Sidon on Thurday night, the IDF spokesperson’s unit said.
The attack was a response to the firing of two rockets earlier Thursday from Lebanon into Israel. The rockets caused damage to property in two Israeli towns but no one was hurt, according to Army Radio.
The target of the strike near Beirut was a base belonging to the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine — General Command, according to Lebanon’s Daily Star. According to the paper, an Israeli missile hit a valley in Naameh, an area some eight miles south of Beirut.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television quoted a spokesman for the Palestinian group as saying there were no casualties or material damage. He said retaliation would come “at the right time.” Both Hezbollah and the Palestinian group are avowed supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his protracted and bloody war against rebels.
The IDF statement said ultimate responsibility for the incident lay with the Lebanese government, for failing to prevent rocket fire into Israel.
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said the launching of rockets into Israel was a violation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and to Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The Lebanese president also asked relevant agencies to apprehend the perpetrators behind the attack and refer them to the judiciary, according to the Daily Star.
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai announced on Facebook just before 5 a.m. morning that “in response to rocket fire at the north [on Thursday] afternoon, IAF aircraft struck a terrorist target south of Beirut overnight.
“At this hour, in which our planes returned safely, I wish a good and quiet morning to all residents of Israel and especially residents of the north and those traveling there,” Mordechai wrote.