About two hours after a rocket fired from Lebanon fell in Israeli territory, IDF carried out strikes in southern Lebanon overnight Sunday.

IDF artillery soldiers shot dozens of shells at the area from which the rocket was launched and also struck infrastructure.

A rocket was launched from southern Lebanon at Israel Sunday night shortly after midnight and exploded in an open area near Kibbutz Matzvua. Heavy explosions were heard in the northern town of Shlomi, near the Lebanese border but no siren was sounded.

According to IDF spokesperson Ran Kochav, the IDF believes that the rocket was fired by Iranian-backed Palestinian factions in southern Lebanon. “It’s connected to Ramadan and what’s going on at the Temple Mount,” Kochav told Kan News.

Another possibility is that Hamas ordered the rocket fire in response to Israel’s closure of the Erez Crossing with the Gaza Strip last week after three rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel. The crossing is still closed, which means that thousands of Palestinians who have work permits cannot enter Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)