Four Israeli soldiers were killed and 67 were injured after Hezbollah’s airstrike last night, in what was labeled the “deadliest attack” since the invasion of Lebanon began.
The attack in the Binyamina area followed a barrage of rockets from Lebanon.
It was unclear whether the victims were soldiers or civilians. Of the three drones launched from Lebanon, two were intercepted, but one penetrated Israeli air defenses.
It seemed to go completely unnoticed, so no warning sirens were activated.
Yesterday, the Israel Defense Force said it had carried out 200 airstrikes on Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in the past 24 hours, deploying four divisions to dismantle the group’s infrastructure in the south of the country.
But the country has struggled to significantly limit rocket fire into Israel.
Yesterday’s attack was the second time in two days that a drone has come through. On Saturday, during the Yom Kippur holiday, a drone hit a Tel Aviv suburb, causing damage but causing no injuries.
Four Israeli soldiers are dead and 67 injured after Hezbollah’s airstrike last night in what was labeled the ‘deadliest attack’ since the invasion of Lebanon began
A military ambulance drives near the spot where a drone from Lebanon attacked Israel
Hezbollah called the attack near the town of Binyamina a retaliation for Thursday’s Israeli attacks on Beirut, which killed 22 people. It later said it targeted Israel’s elite Golani Brigade, launching dozens of missiles to target Israeli air defense systems during the attack by ‘squadrons’ of drones.
Israel’s National Rescue Service said the attack injured 61 people. Thanks to Israel’s advanced air defense systems, it is rare for so many people to be injured by drones or missiles. Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire almost daily since the war in Gaza began, and the fighting has escalated.
Israel launched its ground operation in Lebanon earlier this month with the aim of weakening Hezbollah and driving the militant group from the border so that thousands of displaced Israelis could return to their homes.
Meanwhile, explosions took place outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah early Monday. Tents caught fire, causing panic, and some people carried the injured to hospital.
Hezbollah’s deadly attack in Israel came on the same day the United States announced it would send a new air defense system to Israel to boost its defense against missiles, along with troops needed to operate it. An Israeli army spokesman declined to give a timeline.
Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – both Iranian-backed militant groups – and is expected to attack Iran in retaliation for a rocket attack earlier this month. Iran has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.
Lebanon’s health ministry says more than 1,300 people have been killed since Israel attacked Hezbollah last month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) has called on the UN chief to remove peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon from harm’s way, claiming Hezbollah was using them as “human shields”.
An Israeli soldier stands by as a military helicopter takes off after dropping off patients injured in a drone strike
An ambulance arrives at the scene of a drone strike near the northern Israeli city of Binyamina
An Israeli main battle tank was seen entering Lebanon from northern Israel near the southern Lebanese border point of Naqoura (photo) on Sunday
Israeli security forces and first responders gather at the scene of a drone strike as an ambulance drives by
A Palestinian man carries an injured child after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah
Palestinians search for the bodies of relatives killed in an Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah
Israeli troops patrol near a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in the Naqoura region of southern Lebanon, near the border
A civil defense member stands amid damage in the aftermath of what security sources say was an Israeli attack on a market in southern Lebanon
Last night, an Israeli airstrike killed at least twenty people, including children at a school in Gaza.
The school in Nuseirat provided shelter for some of the many Palestinians displaced by the war.
An estimated 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel invaded in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7 last year, which killed 1,195 Israelis.
Yesterday’s drone strike came as the US announced it would send a new air defense system to Israel to strengthen its defense against missiles.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that attacks on peacekeepers “could constitute a war crime” after five were injured by the IDF.
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN chief to remove peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon from harm’s way, claiming Hezbollah was using them as “human shields”.