Four Israeli soldiers were killed and 67 wounded after Hezbollah’s airstrike last night in what was called the “deadliest attack” since the invasion of Lebanon began.
The attack in the Binyamina area followed a rocket bombardment from Lebanon.
It was not clear whether the victims were soldiers or civilians. Of the three drones launched from Lebanon, two were intercepted but one penetrated Israeli air defenses.
It appeared to have gone undetected at all, so no warning sirens were activated.
Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out 200 airstrikes against 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 it is struggling to significantly curb rocket fire at Israel.
Yesterday’s attack was the second time in two days that a drone managed to get through. On Saturday, during the Yom Kippur holiday, a drone hit a Tel Aviv suburb, causing damage but no injuries.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed and 67 wounded following Hezbollah’s airstrike last night in what was called the “deadliest attack” since the invasion of Lebanon began.
A military ambulance approaches the place where a Lebanese drone attacked Israel
Hezbollah called the attack near the town of Binyamina retaliation for Israeli strikes in Beirut on Thursday that killed 22 people. It later said it had attacked Israel’s elite Golani brigade, launching dozens of missiles to occupy Israeli air defense systems during the assault by drone “squads.”
Israel’s national rescue service said the attack injured 61 people. With 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 in the year since the war in Gaza began, and the fighting has intensified.
Israel launched its ground operation in Lebanon earlier this month with the aim of weakening Hezbollah and moving the militant group away from the border to allow thousands of displaced Israelis to return to their homes.
Meanwhile, explosions occurred early on Monday outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Tents caught fire, causing panic and some people took the injured to hospital.
Hezbollah’s deadly attack on Israel came on the same day the United States announced it would send a new air defense system to Israel to help bolster protection against missiles, along with the troops needed to operate it. An Israeli military spokesman declined to provide a timeline.
Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – both militant groups backed by Iran – and is expected to attack Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month. Iran has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.
The Lebanese Health Ministry says more than 1,300 people have been killed since Israel began attacking Hezbollah last month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) has called on the UN chief to remove peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon from the “path of danger”, alleging that Hezbollah was using them as “human shields.” “.
An Israeli soldier watches as a military helicopter takes off after dropping off patients who were injured in a drone strike.
An ambulance arrives at the scene of the drone attack near the town of Binyamina, northern Israel.
An Israeli battle tank seen entering Lebanon from northern Israel at the southern Lebanese border point of Naqoura (pictured) on Sunday.
Israeli security forces and first responders gather at the site of a drone strike as an ambulance passes by.
A Palestinian carries an injured child after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah
Palestinians search for bodies of relatives killed in Israeli bombing in Deir al-Balah
Israeli troops patrolling near a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in the Naqoura region of southern Lebanon, close to the border.
A civil defense member stands amid the damage caused after what security sources said was an Israeli attack on a market in southern Lebanon.
Last night, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 20 people, including children, at a Gaza school.
The Nuseirat school housed some of the many Palestinians displaced by the war.
An estimated 30,000 people have died in Gaza since Israel invaded in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7 last year, which killed 1,195 Israelis.
Yesterday’s drone attack came as the United States announced it would send a new air defense system to Israel to bolster its protection against missiles.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that attacks against peacekeepers “may constitute a war crime”, after five people 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 “danger of danger”, alleging that Hezbollah was using them as “human shields”.