Rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel as regional tensions soar

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JERUSALEM — Air raid sirens wailed in northern Israel on Thursday afternoon as rockets were launched from across the border in southern Lebanon, raising the specter of a broader regional conflict amid soaring tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Israel Defense Forces said that at least one rocket was intercepted by the country’s air defense system. “Details to follow,” its Telegram channel said.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said that it treated a 19-year-old man for light shrapnel wounds, and that a 60-year-old woman had also been injured as she scrambled to an air raid shelter.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced a high-level security meeting, expected to take place Thursday afternoon. Israel’s defense ministry said that Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant — still serving despite being dismissed by Netanyahu last month for his opposition to a controversial government plan to weaken the Supreme Court — had been briefed on the details and that a more extensive assessment of the situation would follow.

Thursday’s rocket attack followed a second night of violence around Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s most sacred sites, after Israeli police stormed the area using stun grenades, rubber bullets and batons to disperse thousands of worshipers who had gathered in the courtyard for Ramadan prayers.

At least six Palestinians were injured, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincides this year with the Jewish Passover holiday, a situation that Israeli security officials have long warned could lead to violent escalation as worshipers gather in greater numbers and far-right supporters of Netanyahu’s government test a decades-old status quo around Jerusalem’s holy esplanade, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Lebanese media reported that the army had been dispatched to the south of the country to locate the launch site, but an army spokesman remained vague: “The army is already there anyway,” said Colonel George Khoury, adding that members of the army usually check on such developments. He said more details would be given later.

In a statement, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon described the situation as “extremely serious.”

Dadouch reported from Beirut.

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