MAGDALA, Israel — A wildfire broke out near the Church of the Beatitudes, a Christian holy site near the Sea of Galilee, after Iran-backed Hezbollah unleashed a barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Saturday evening.
At around 5:23 pm, warning sirens were sounded in 13 communities across North Galilee, near the Lebanese border, with warnings being issued in five neighbouring communities an hour later.
No injuries were reported and no warnings were issued near the holy site, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of where the rockets are believed to have been aimed. But a projectile intercepted by a missile defense system could scatter shrapnel over a wider area, and rockets fired by Hezbollah have recently sparked fires in northern Israel.
Several smaller wildfires were also burning on the hillsides above the Sea of Galilee, suggesting that debris may have been a factor, although wildfires are common in northern Israel during the summer, when temperatures are usually hot and dry.
Iran and its terrorist militias have put holy sites at risk before, most notably the April 13 missile attack that saw Israeli defense systems protect the holiest sites in Islam from attack.
Iron Dome intercepted several Iranian drones over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem last night.
Can you imagine if one of these had broken through and caused damage to Al-Aqsa Mosque?
Who did they blame? pic.twitter.com/xkpK6sXFt9
— Jesse Cohen (@JesseCohenInv) April 14, 2024
According to Christian tradition, the Church of the Beatitudes is located near the site where Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
This story has been updated.
