Beirut says it thwarted rocket attack on Israel

According to a Lebanese source cited by Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya, the seized rockets belonged to a cell of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which is primarily based in the Gaza Strip.

By JNS

The Lebanese Armed Forces announced on Sunday morning that it had preempted “preparations for a new rocket launch” toward Israel, raiding an apartment in the country’s south and seizing several projectiles.

“As a result of ongoing monitoring, surveillance and investigations, the Intelligence Directorate obtained information about preparations for a new rocket launch targeting the occupied Palestinian territories,” the LAF wrote in an Arabic statement posted to its social media channels.

“Following this, a patrol from the Directorate, supported by an army unit, raided an apartment in the Sidon-Zahrani area,” the Lebanese military statement continued. “They confiscated several rockets with launching platforms and arrested several individuals.”

The confiscated projectiles and launchers were transferred to Beirut’s security forces for further investigation, while the suspects were taken into custody “under the supervision of the competent judiciary,” it said.

According to a Lebanese source cited by Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya, the seized rockets belonged to a cell of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which is primarily based in the Gaza Strip.

On March 29, LAF commander Gen. Rodolph Haykal told Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency that several people had been detained in connection with the firing of rockets into Israel the previous day.

For the third time since the ceasefire with Lebanon took effect on Nov. 27, terrorists in the Land of the Cedars had fired rockets at the Galilee on March 28, with air-raid sirens sounding in Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings.

The arrested suspects were said to include Palestinians and Lebanese.

Haykal said that rocket attacks from Lebanon serve “the enemy,” meaning Israel, and reaffirmed the military’s commitment to safeguarding Lebanon and its people.

The November ceasefire required an Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group moving north of the Litani River and the LAF acting as a buffer between the two.

However, Jerusalem announced in February that it would maintain a presence in five key strategic locations on the Israel-Lebanon border.

These positions are deemed essential for ensuring the security of northern Israeli communities until the LAF is fully able to assume control over Lebanon’s south under a U.S.-monitored mechanism.