Israel’s IDF says air defenses intercepted 2 UAVs and some of the projectiles fired by the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group; no injuries reported
AMN / WEB DESK
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group fired a large barrage of rockets at northern Israel on Friday night, as the country braces for an expected retaliatory attack by Iran or its proxies to an alleged Israeli strike in Syria that killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members.
A statement from the Iran-backed militant group claiming responsibility for the rocket fire on the Galilee Panhandle said Hezbollah operatives launched dozens of Katyushas at Israel Defense Forces artillery positions in northern Israel.
US warns Iran
Earlier US President Joe Biden said that he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner than later”, as fears grow of Iranian retaliation over an air strike that killed top commanders early this month.
Israel has not admitted attacking an Iranian consulate in Syria, but is widely believed to have been behind it.
US officials have told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that a major attack on Israel could happen imminently.
Israel says it is ready to defend itself. Mr Biden told Iran : “Don’t”. “We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel,” Mr Biden said.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Wednesday that Israel “must be punished and will be punished” for the April 1 attack, days after one of his advisers said Israeli embassies are “no longer safe.”
U.S. diplomatic officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have been reaching out to counterparts in Turkey, China and Saudi Arabia, urging them to make clear to Tehran “that escalation is not in anyone’s interest,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Thursday.