TEHRAN — The devious Israeli regime is devastatingly trying to play the role of a victim, while it was the child-killer regime that started the aerial aggression on Wednesday.

Three rockets were fired on Wednesday, two of which reached Israel, striking near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona. No casualties were reported. 

The Israeli army stated that it carried out three rounds of what it called “retaliatory” shelling. The Lebanese army stated that 92 artillery shells fired by Israel had fallen in southern Lebanon after the rockets were fired on Wednesday. 

Multiple wildfires in dry conditions caused by the Israeli bombardment, but no casualties were reported. After firing rockets, Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on neighboring Lebanon. 

“Earlier today [Thursday], rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” the Israeli air force tweeted. 

“In response … fighter jets struck the launch sites and infrastructure used for terror in Lebanon from which the rockets were launched.

“An additional target in the area from which rockets have been launched in the past was struck as well.”

Speaking to Israel’s YNet TV, War Minister Benny Gantz said: “This was an attack meant to send a message … Clearly we could do much more, and we hope we won’t arrive at that.”

Gantz said he believed that the Palestinian faction launched the rocket. In the past, small Palestinian factions in Lebanon had fired on Israel from time to time. 

The Zionist regime’s air force confirmed that this was the first time they had hit a target in Lebanon since 2014. Previously recognized military operations mainly involved shelling. 

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that Israel's airstrikes against the Lebanese people were the first airstrikes since 2006, indicating the escalation of its "aggressive intentions" against Lebanon. 

Aoun also stated in a tweet that the attack directly threatened the security and stability of southern Lebanon and violated UN Security Council resolutions. 

In retaliation, Hezbollah stated that it had fired rockets into open space near Israeli positions in response to Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon. 

In a statement on Friday, Hezbollah stated that it had launched a rare airstrike in neighboring occupied lands early Thursday after Israeli warplanes fired rockets across the border. "Dozens" of rockets were launched in the area. 

Israel said it did not want to escalate to a full-blown war, even though it was prepared. 

“More than 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Most of the rockets were intercepted by the aerial defense system while the rest of them landed in open areas adjacent to Har Dov,” the Shebaa Farms border district, the air force said on Twitter, although local sources claimed that 21 rockets were launched into the Israeli open ground. 

Figures close to Hezbollah told Al Jazeera that the movement’s response was “a message” and “warning” to Israel.

“They are telling the Israelis they cannot change the rules of engagement since the last war in 2006,” said an Al Jazeera reporter in Lebanon. 

“Hezbollah is saying the ball is in Israel’s court. They can escalate the situation or calm it down,” Al Jazeera reporter said of his conversation with the source close to Hezbollah. 

Israel fought a 2006 war against Hezbollah, which is the dominant force in southern Lebanon. The border has been mostly quiet since then.

The escalation came as thousands of grief-stricken Lebanese marked the first anniversary of a devastating explosion in Beirut port that killed more than 200 people and scarred the nation’s psyche.

It is important to note that Israel started the aggression first, violating all kinds of humanitarian and international laws. Hezbollah acted in self-defense. Therefore, the Israeli regime cannot buy sympathies for itself, as no one cries for the oppressor. 

The decision is up to Bennett and his team. They can calm things down and seize the opportunity, or, they can keep the tensions ongoing. 

SA/PA