Israel strikes target Gaza, Lebanon

Two Israeli settlers killed after gunmen opened fire on a vehicle in occupied West Bank.
Israel’s military launched air attacks on southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip after spate of reported rocket attacks.Israel not looking to engage Hezbollah in war, says political observer
Political observers say that Israel is most likely not looking to escalate the situation along its border with Lebanon.

“Israel wants to respond but doesn’t want a wide-scale war and doesn’t want to involve Hezbollah in a war,” Wassail Awada, a political analyst based in Lebanon, told Al Jazeera.

“There are many reasons [to this] among them its domestic troubles – and Israel doesn’t war to disrupt its of production of gas,” he said.Israeli attacks on worshippers ‘unsettling, unacceptable’
Jalal Abukhater, a Palestinian writer and activist from Jerusalem, has said Israel that Israel has been using “extreme, brutal force on unarmed worshippers” during this week’s raids at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“It’s just incredible the fact that they are willing to send [armed] forces to kick out worshippers in such an ugly way,” he told Al Jazeera from occupied East Jerusalem.

“This would be condemned all across the world. It’s like a Midnight Mass getting attacked by the military of a foreign occupation army. It was unsettling and unacceptable in every way.”

The 28-year-old also reflected on the age limits imposed by Israeli police that prohibit Palestinian men under the age of 40 from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“The imposition of such age restrictions is of course difficult to accept, but at the same time it is the reality of the brutal occupation that rules over us through force,” he said.Jordanians take to Amman streets to condemn Israeli raids at Al-Aqsa
Hundreds of Jordanians have taken to the streets of Amman following prayers to condemn Israeli raids at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Carrying banners and placards, the protesters chanted anti-Israeli occupation slogans.

Earlier in the week, Israeli police attacked Palestinian worshippers, arresting and removing hundreds of people from the compound and drawing global condemnation.

“We call on the parties involved in the conflict to refrain from confrontational steps, to act in the interests of preventing further escalation, ending violence and restoring a sustainable ceasefire,” the foreign ministry said.

Hezbollah says it’s ‘vigilant’ after tensions soar on border
Lebanon’s Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has said in a tweet that the resistance is “vigilant” after Thursday’s exchange of fire over the Lebanon-Israel border.

Israel’s military hit sites in Lebanon and Gaza early on Friday in retaliation for rocket attacks it blamed on Hamas.

Iran condemns Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Gaza
Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Gaza, and called for action by international bodies, state media reported.

Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the ministry “strongly condemned the attacks … as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a gross violation of international law and human rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation, and called for an effective response by … world bodies”, state media said.Israel calls on UN to condemn Lebanon and Hamas over rocket fire
Israel has called on the UN Security Council to issue a condemnation against Lebanon and Hamas for recent rocket fire against Israel.

Israel blamed the Palestinian group Hamas for firing dozens of rockets at Israel from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip since Thursday. They caused damage but no serious injuries.

The Israeli military then carried out air raids against targets in southern Lebanon and Gaza.

Israel’s foreign ministry said it reached out to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and called for condemnation from the UNSC.Regional mediators work to restore calm in Palestine-Israel, Lebanon
The French foreign ministry has been making efforts to ensure that the situation between Lebanon and Israel does not escalate further, Israeli media have reported.

The reports came after Israel launched overnight air attacks on south Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in response to a barrage of rockets from both territories on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Egypt was mediating between Israel and Hamas to pacify the situation along the Israeli fence with the Gaza Strip, according to the reports.France says it supports Israel’s ‘security’ and Lebanon’s ‘sovereignty’
France has promised “unwavering” support for “Israel’s security and Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty” after Israel responded with strikes to rockets launched by the Palestinian group Hamas from positions inside Lebanon.

Paris called on “all parties to show maximum restraint and avoid any action liable to lead to an escalation”, foreign ministry spokesman Francois Delmas said, reiterating France’s “strong condemnation of the indiscriminate rocket fire that targeted Israeli territory from Gaza and southern Lebanon”.Tensions between Hezbollah, Israel will de-escalate: Expert
It is unlikely tensions between Hezbollah and Israel will escalate following air attacks on southern Lebanon, director of The Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs Sami Nader has said.

“The main players, Hezbollah on the Lebanese side and Israel … have no interest in escalation. It’s true the Netanyahu government is trying to export its common domestic crisis [protests against judicial reforms] … to the external danger that is represented by Hamas or by Hezbollah, but within limits,” he said from Beirut, adding that a full-fledged war could jeopardise “the very existence of the Israeli government”.

As for Hezbollah, Nader said, another war between the Iran-backed group and Israel would lead to “very damaging consequences” for the economy and the Lebanese people, including Hezbollah’s own constituency.Footage of Israel’s overnight air attacks on Lebanon and Gaza
Israel’s military launched air attacks on southern Lebanon and Gaza following rocket fire from these areas, which came after Israeli raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

Turkish minister denounces Israeli attacks on Gaza
Turkey’s defence minister, Hulusi Akar, has denounced the overnight Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

“Israel carried out indiscriminate attacks on the Gaza Strip last night using disproportionate force. We strongly condemn these attacks,” Akar told reporters in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

“This aggressive attitude, which ignores human rights and universal values, further increases tension in the region. It is clear that these attacks will harm regional peace,” he said.