Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it attacked an organization located in Syria, which it holds responsible for launching an unmanned aerial vehicle that struck a school in the southern Israeli city of Eilat. “The IDF holds the Syrian regime fully responsible for every terror activity emanating from its territory. The IDF will respond severely to every aggression against Israeli territory,” the military said on its Telegram account. Previously, the Houthis claimed they fired a “batch of ballistic missiles” targeting the south of Israel.
Fears of wider regional conflict as tensions grow on Lebanon border
It is happening on a daily basis. Hezbollah fighters moving through the hilly shrub lands of southern Lebanon set up and take aim before attacking Israeli positions.
The Israel Defence Forces is responding by striking back at the Iranian-backed militant group, which is designated a terrorist organisation by much of the world. At the moment the violence is relatively constrained but these are worrying times. In the middle UN peacekeepers are still out on patrol monitoring the situation. There are armoured vehicles snaking along the roads but they are very concerned about where the violence is heading. “It is a very concerning moment,” Andrea Tenenti, spokesman for the mission told Sky News.
“… It is a very concerning moment, a very tense moment. But we are still on the ground. Our troops have not left.
“We have over 10,500 troops from 49 different countries… But we need to be very careful because this exchange of fire is going on, on a daily basis, all along the blue line.” Arab countries are warning the longer the bombing of Gaza goes on the greater the chance of a wider regional conflict. The Saudi Arabian foreign minister has claimed what’s happening in southern Israel is a “flagrant and unjustified violation of international law committed against the Palestinian people”. The Israeli military says it does not want to see any escalation on its northern border but its troops are ready if the attacks continue. Already tens of thousands have been displaced from their communities. And in Lebanon it’s the same. People are moving to safety. Families from villages in the south are fearful another war is coming and that it will be even more destructive than what happened in 2006. At a camp for those who have sought refuge from the fighting, Iman Iskandar said there is a lot of anxiety among the displaced. “… We left our homes because of security issues at the borders of the country, because of the bombing and the war that is going on. We are conditioned to this pattern, but we pray that it never expands.”