By Arwa Ibrahim and Kate Mayberry
- Israel’s military has launched air attacks on southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip following a spate of reported rocket attacks on the country.
- The escalation in tensions comes after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on successive days this week, firing stun grenades and attacking Palestinians as they gathered for Ramadan prayers.
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- 3m ago (05:47 GMT)Israeli strikes on Lebanon risk drawing Hezbollah responseIsraeli strikes in Lebanon risk drawing Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement into the fighting, which could lead to war.Both Israel and Hezbollah have avoided an all-out conflict since a 34-day war in 2006 ended in a draw.The Iran-backed group, armed with thousands of rockets and missiles, holds sway over much of southern Lebanon and is viewed by Israel as a bitter foe.
- 1h ago (04:44 GMT)‘We are only defending ourselves’: Hamas member in GazaA Hamas member has told Al Jazeera that people in Gaza have “no place to hide” and rocket fire was a way for the enclave to defend itself from Israel.Speaking on Friday from Gaza, Basem Naim, said residents were scared but had nowhere to go.“We have no place to hide or take shelter,” he said.“We are only defending ourselves. It has always been a response to continued Israeli aggression on a daily basis.”The tiny Gaza Strip is home to two million Palestinians and came under Israeli occupation, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.Residents of the self-governed enclave have been under an Israeli air and sea blockade since 2007
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Streaks of light are seen as Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon [Amir Cohen/Reuters] 
Smoke and flames rise into the night sky after Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip [Ashraf Amra/Reuters]- 1h ago (04:25 GMT)Strikes in Lebanon hit ‘open spaces’: AJ correspondentThe targets hit by Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon were “open spaces” suggesting Israel may be trying to avoid an escalation, according to Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr.She says that while a village identified as the origin of Thursday’s rocket fire was targeted, the Israeli missiles fell on “open spaces”.“This really suggests Israel would not have wanted an escalation,” says Khodr, who is in Beirut.Israel has said it was focusing on Hamas targets in its Friday raids.Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement have close ties and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is currently in the country on a private visit.
- 1h ago (04:08 GMT)What’s been happening at Al-Aqsa Mosque?The latest surge in tension comes after violence inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.Israeli riot police stormed the mosque, Islam’s third-holiest shrine, as people were at prayer on successive occasions earlier this week, deploying stun grenades and tear gas.The 14-hectare (35-acre) compound houses the al-Qibli Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and is built on the Temple of the Mount, one of Judaism’s most sacred sites.Confrontations at Al-Aqsa have sparked deadly cross-border wars between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers in the past – most recently in 2021.Find out more in this explainer from Al Jazeera’s Start Here team.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.567.2_en.html#goog_1636365165Play VideoVideo Duration 10 minutes 15 seconds10:15Why is Al-Aqsa Mosque compound so significant?
- 2h ago (03:43 GMT)Hamas condemns Israeli air strikes on LebanonHamas has just issued a statement in response to the Israeli air attacks in southern Lebanon.“We strongly condemn the blatant Zionist aggression against Lebanon in the vicinity of Tyre at dawn today,” the statement said.Advertisement
- 2h ago (03:25 GMT)UN mission in Lebanon warns of ‘serious escalation’The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the country, is urging restraint.“Both sides (Lebanon and Israel) have said they do not want a war,” UNIFIL said in a statement, adding that mission head Major General Aroldo Lazaro was speaking to authorities on both sides of the border.“The actions over the past day are dangerous and risk a serious escalation,” UNIFIL said.
- 2h ago (03:18 GMT)Lebanon PM condemns rocket fire, ‘rejects any military escalation’Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has condemned the firing of rockets from Lebanon.Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr says the prime minister said the army and United Nations peacekeepers were investigating who was behind the launches and trying to find the perpetrators.The government “categorically rejects any military escalation”, Mikati added, as well as the use of Lebanon to stage acts that threaten stability.