Israel Matzav

IDF fires on Lebanese sources of Katyusha fire

In an earlier post, I reported that at least one and possibly two Katyusha rockets had struck northern Israel. Shortly after that post went up, the IDF retaliated for what turned out to be three Katyusha rockets that were shot at Israel.

IDF artillery cannons pounded Lebanese targets early Tuesday morning in response to at least three rockets fired into northern Israel.

Three 122 millimeter rockets fired from within Lebanon, just north of the border, landed in the Western Galilee shortly after midnight, with police searching for a possible fourth rocket. No injuries were reported in the attacks.

The rockets landed close to the Lebanese border , causing some damage to a chicken coop and a gas tank. Firefighting crews were called in to cool down a propane gas tank that was struck.

Police were searching for a possible fourth rocket in the Western Galilee after residents reported hearing an explosion in the area.

The IDF said in a statement that it views the rocket attacks as a severe incident and it holds the Lebanese government and the Lebanese military responsible for preventing such actions.

The IDF Northern Command has gone on full alert and is holding continuous evaluation in light of the events, the statement added.

But here's the really interesting part, which was also just repeated on Israel Radio: The IDF doesn't think it was Hezbullah's doing.

The IDF assessment is that it is not Hezbollah, but rather al-Qaida or Palestinian terror groups who operate inside Lebanon that were behind the rocket fire, as has been the case in the past with isolated attacks.

I wouldn't let Hezbullah off so easily. There was a huge explosion yesterday at or near the Iranian nuclear plant near Isfahan. Iran is Hezbullah's patron and whether or not we had anything to do with it, Israel must be a suspect in that blast. Could the Hezbullah rockets have been a warning to us? I would not completely discount that possibility.

Oh and by the way, remember that explosion at the Hezbullah ammunition dump last week? Well, the IDF sent up a drone, and they now say that the explosion never happened.

The IDF has confirmed that their was not an explosion near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre last week, as opposed to media reports claiming that a blast had occurred.The reports had claimed that a Hezbollah weapons cache had exploded in the area, but the IDF sent a drone over the village which did not detect any indication of an explosion.

Hmmm.

Labels: Hezbullah, Katyusha rockets, Southern Lebanon

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:00 AM