Air-raid sirens blared across northern Israel on Friday as Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a long-range rocket at the Galilee, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.
“Following the initial report regarding sirens sounded in northern Israel, one rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip towards the area of northern Israel,” the military said. “The IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted the rocket.”
Hezbollah also shot into northern Israel on Friday, and the IDF returned fire. The IDF posted that one of its drones struck “terrorist targets belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned on Friday that Tehran’s other terror proxies would join the war if Israel continues to attack Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“Some Western officials have questioned if there is an intention to open a new front against the Zionist entity. Of course, in light of the continuation of these circumstances that are war crimes,” Amir-Abdollahian told journalists in Beirut.
“The continuation of war crimes against Palestine and Gaza will receive a response from the rest of the Axis. And naturally, the Zionist entity and its supporters will be responsible for the consequences of that,” he added.
The “Axis of Resistance” refers to Hezbollah, Hamas and other Iranian-backed terror groups along Israel’s borders.
Amir-Abdollahian left Tehran on Thursday for a regional tour that includes planned stops in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. According to Iran’s semi-official IRNA news agency, conversations will focus on “developments in Palestine and the Gaza Strip.”
On Friday, the Islamic Republic’s top diplomat met with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. The terror group subsequently announced it was ready to join Hamas in the war against Israel.
“We are fully prepared, and when the time comes for action, we will take it,” Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem told Hezbollah supporters in the suburbs of Beirut.
Amir-Abdollahian was also set to visit Damascus on Friday, according to Syrian reports.
On Thursday afternoon, explosions were heard across Syria, with local media claiming Israeli airstrikes targeted the airports of Damascus and Aleppo. The pro-Assad regime Sham FM radio station reported that Syrian air defenses “confronted” the alleged Israeli attack.
The runways of both airports were reportedly damaged in the strikes, making it harder for Iran to send arms to its terrorist proxies on Israel’s northern border.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been testing the waters, initiating a series of fire exchanges as the IDF is preparing for an anticipated ground offensive in the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas’s terror capabilities.
The military on Friday declared some areas in Metula, Israel’s northernmost town, a closed military zone.