Nine Israeli soldiers and a civilian were injured by rockets fired by Hezbollah, one of which hit a church in an Arab village that had been destroyed by Israel in 1951.
It is the St. Mary's Church of Iqrit, which, according to AMNA, is a Catholic church that does not belong to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and not a Greek Orthodox church, as Israeli officials had initially announced.
"Hezbollah attacked the St. Mary’s Greek-Orthodox Church of Iqrit in northern Israel," Israeli Deputy spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alex Gandler, said
"An anti-tank missile from Lebanon directly hit the church, injuring a civilian. This attack is not only a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, but also a violation of the freedom of worship," he added.
Hezbollah attacked the St. Mary’s Greek-Orthodox Church of Iqrit in northern Israel.
An anti-tank missile from Lebanon directly hit the church, injuring a civilian.
This attack is not only a clear violation of @UN Security Council Resolution 1701, but also a violation of the… pic.twitter.com/37z4zFneTG
— Alex Gandler 🎗️ (@AlexGandler) December 26, 2023
According to him, nine of his soldiers were subsequently wounded, one of them seriously, by another Hezbollah strike, while they were rendering aid to the wounded civilian.
Resolution 1701, adopted to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, states that only the Lebanese Army and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are allowed to deploy forces between the border and the Litani River.
Hezbollah today claimed responsibility for several attacks on military targets in northern Israel, including a barracks hit by "Burkan-type" rockets.
The residents of Iqrit were evicted from their land by the Israeli army after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The church and a cemetery are all that remain of the village which was leveled at Christmas 1951 to prevent residents from returning to it, following a decision by the Supreme Court of Israel.
Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, there have been almost daily clashes on the border between Israel and Lebanon. More than 150 people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, and another 13 in Israel, of whom 9 were soldiers.
Today, two people were injured by Israeli fire in the Toulin community of Lebanon, 10 kilometres from the border, according to the Lebanese NNA agency.
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