The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that a Hezbollah anti-tank missile hit the St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Iqrit, northern Israel, wounding a civilian.
“The attack is not only a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 but also a violation of the freedom of worship,” the IDF says in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter.
#Hezbollah shot a missile from #Lebanon
towards a church in the Christian town of Iqrit إقرث in northern #Israel
, injuring an 80 year old man during prayer
This is a targetted attack against Christians, as the church has no other buildings in its vicinity pic.twitter.com/1YZIY6ein6
— Zechariah Shar’abi | זכריה | زكريا (@ZechariahSharab) December 26, 2023
Another anti-tank missile was fired at the area after Israeli forces arrived on the scene.
Hezbollah joins Hamas in the war against Israel
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been waging a low-intensity conflict against Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in the Jewish state.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out extensive strikes on Hezbollah assets in Southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning, close to the border towns of Aita al-Shaab, Ramyeh and Meiss ej-Jabal, according to Lebanese media.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו לפני זמן קצר תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון. בנוסף, תצפיתניות צה”ל זיהו מבנה אליו ברח המחבל ששיגר את טיל הנ”ט לעבר כנסייה במרחב שומרה מוקדם יותר היום, כוחות צה”ל תקפו את המבנה >> pic.twitter.com/DryVpStQf0
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 26, 2023
Before the strikes, Israeli reconnaissance drones flew over several Lebanese towns near the frontier, according to the reports. Additionally, an IDF tank shelled a terror target to remove a threat from Lebanon, said the military.
Greece along with several Western countries has advised its citizens to leave Lebanon. “Given the current situation in the area, the Greek Embassy of Beirut recommends to all Greek visitors non-residents passing through and currently in Lebanon, to leave the country,” an announcement by the Embassy of Greece tweeted in October.
Hezbollah has also carried a drone attack targeting the US forces on Erbil Air Base in Iraq on Monday morning, the White House said.
Later the US retaliated by carrying out airstrikes on three facilities used by the Iraq-based Kataib Hezbollah and “affiliated groups.”
Israel faces multi-front war
On Tuesday Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the country is in a multi-front war.
“We are in a multi-front war and are coming under attack from seven theatres: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria (West Bank), Iraq, Yemen and Iran. We have already responded and taken action in six of these theatres.”
He spoke as Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify the fight against Hamas in Gaza.
On Christmas Eve, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says an Israeli air strike killed at least seventy people in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the center of the strip.
A spokesman said the death toll was likely to rise given the large number of families living in the area. Dozens of injured people were rushed from Maghazi to nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital with footage showing some children’s faces covered in blood and body bags piled outside.
The health ministry says three houses were hit in the attack late on Sunday. According to ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra, a densely populated residential block was destroyed.