The Israeli army carried out airstrikes on targets belonging to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
The army said the attack was in response to 34 rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Thursday, for which it blames Hamas.
The army in Gaza fired several rockets after the offensive began.
Tensions escalated earlier this week following a two-night shooting by Israeli police at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The attack sparked clashes with Palestinians at the mosque, the third holiest place in Islam, and fueled anger in the region.
Hamas did not say it fired rockets from Lebanon, the largest dam in 17 years.
However, its leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was visiting Beirut at the time, said that the Palestinians would not “stand up” in the face of Israeli aggression.
During the night, two or three explosions erupted around the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp, 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of the Lebanese coastal city of Tire.
Lebanese media also reported an attack on the outskirts of the village of al-Qulaila, 4 km to the south. Pictures show that the small bridge is damaged.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that its warplanes had shot down “Hamas-affiliated terrorists” in Lebanon.
“The IDF will not allow the Hamas terrorist group to operate in Lebanon and will not hold the Lebanese government responsible for any shooting from its territory,” warned.
Hamas said it “decided to take action against the Zionist terrorists near Tire in Lebanon at dawn today [Friday].”
Columns of an underground facility used to manufacture weapons in Gaza, three weapons factories and an underground “tunnel of terror”, the IDF said.
According to Israeli media reports, at least 44 rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel during the attack. Most of the
were hit or exposed by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, but at least one building was hit in the city of Sderot.
There were no reports of casualties from the attack or rocket fire during the night.
A man was injured by a rocket fired from Lebanon in northern Israel on Thursday afternoon. The Israeli military said 25 of the 34 rockets were intercepted, but five hit Israeli territory.
In the northwest border town of Shlomi, rockets left craters in the streets and destroyed cars and banks. A car was also damaged in Fassuta village.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that Israel’s response would “allow our enemies to pay a heavy price”.
An Israeli military spokesman said he believed Hamas was behind the attack, possibly including the Islamic Jihad group.
He added that they believed the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which waged a month-long war with Israel in 2006, was aware of the attack and suspected Iran was involved.
The attack came hours after Hezbollah, which controls much of southern Lebanon, announced that it would support “all measures” taken by the Palestinians “to protect the worshipers and Al-Aqsa Mosque and to prevent further attacks by the enemy”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned a military “skirmish” on his own soil.
The Lebanese military said the rockets were fired near two border villages, al-Qulaila and Maaliya and Zibqine, near Tire.
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