On Friday, Fox News reported that rockets fired by militants in Gaza has reached deeper into Israel, which led to Israeli officials to suspect that Lebanese fighters might have already joined in the offensive against the country.
According to the Lebanese military, three rockets were fired towards the country at around 6AM, which led to Israel retaliating by firing around 25 artillery shells. This has been confirmed by Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner. Later on, Lebanese troops and United Nations peacekeepers started searching the area, with the military trying to find out who is responsible for the attack.
Meanwhile in Gaza an Israeli airstrike also hit the home of a well-known Islamic Jihad leader the same day. Gaza health officials have confirmed that a total of eight people had been killed by the overnight strikes, increasing the death toll to at least 98, with dozens of them civilians. Officials said a later strike increased the number of casualties to more than a hundred and some 670 injured.
Fox News said the blast in Ashdod, which sent plumes of smoke into the air thanks to rocket fire had caused three people to get injured, with one in serious condition. The blast has yet to kill anyone on the Israeli side.
The Hamas militant group has already warned foreign carriers to not fly to Israel, and that there has been rocket threats to some of the major airports in the country.
Amid criticism of the aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he is not feeling any international pressure to quit the offensive and has not ruled out the possibility to launch a ground invasion to stop the rockets coming from Palestinian militants, the New York Times reported.
"We are weighing all possibilities and preparing for all possibilities. No international pressure will prevent us from striking the terrorists who are attacking us," Netanyahu said.
