Israel launches air strikes in Lebanon and Gaza after militants fire missile barrage

Israel launched air strikes in Lebanon on Friday morning in response to a militant rocket attack, raising fears of an all-out conflict in the coming days. The Israeli military said on Friday before dawn that it was “currently striking in Lebanon” without immediately providing details – but there were reports in Lebanese media of explosions in the southern city of Tyre. A witness told AFP that at least two shells fell near a Palestinian refugee camp near Tyre, while there were further reports of Israeli aircraft heard over the city of Naqoura and near Nabatieh. The Israeli Defence Forces claimed they were attacking targets belonging to Hamas. “The IDF will not allow the Hamas terrorist organisation to operate from within Lebanon and holds the state of Lebanon responsible for every directed fire emanating from its territory,“ it said in a statement. The escalation comes after militants in southern Lebanon on Thursday fired a massive barrage of rockets at northern Is