The drone attack launched on Sunday added fuel to the fire between Lebanon and Israel Hezbollah at a Golani brigade training center in Binyamina, south of Haifa, in northern Israel, killing four young soldiers and injuring seven others.
It is the deadliest blow Hezbollah has unleashed against Israel since September 23, when exchanges of fire between the two sides turned into open warfare.
The attack reportedly began with rockets and continued with drones, which appeared to short-circuit the Iron Dome air defense system, raising questions about the security gaps it might face with such attacks.
In a statement, the Iranian-backed Shiite movement, which is allied with the Palestinian Hamas, “promised the enemy” that the attack “south of Haifa is but a foretaste of what awaits him if he decides to continue his attack on of our people”.
“Severe and painful attack”
The chief of the general staff of the Israeli army, Gen Herzi Halevivisited the military base. “We are at war and an attack on a training base on the home front is cruel and painful”said the Israeli general addressing the soldiers at the base.
Video of his visit was released by the Israeli military, denying rumors circulating on social media Sunday night that Herzi Halevi was at the Golani Brigade base at the time of the attack and that he is dead.
“We are at war, and an attack on a training base on the home front is difficult and the results are painful. You operated well to treat and evacuate the wounded and injured. Embrace the bereaved families, accompany the wounded, and strengthen the commanders and soldiers.”… pic.twitter.com/iYJOLSP6m9
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 14, 2024
Rocket fire in central Israel
Hezbollah attacks continued today Monday (14/10) with the Israeli army announcing that it had intercepted several missiles fired from Lebanon aimed at central Israel. “Sirens were heard a while ago in the Sharon, Menashe and Wadi Ara areas and a number of missiles were spotted crossing into Israeli territory from Lebanon. The air force managed to intercept all the missiles”the army clarified, while millions of citizens rushed to shelters.
The Shiite Lebanese movement said it targeted a barracks in central Israel near Netanya, a coastal city north of Tel Aviv. He had earlier announced that he targeted a naval base near Haifa.
🚨Millions of Israelis are running to bomb shelters as sirens sound across Israel🚨 pic.twitter.com/xlddwUbbTk
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 14, 2024
“We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel will continue to “relentlessly hit Hezbollah, including in Beirut,” in a video released by his office.
“I want to be clear: we will continue to mercilessly hit Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon, including Beirut,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the stricken military base.
Meanwhile, he tonight rejected accusations that the Israeli military deliberately targeted the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (NIFIL), calling them “totally false”. He also reiterated his call to the blue-collar workers to withdraw from the war zones.
“The best way to ensure the safety of UNIFIL personnel is for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s request and temporarily remove itself from danger”he added.
UNIFIL – get out of harm’s way! pic.twitter.com/vCnw7XLWCo
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) October 14, 2024
“The blue-collar workers will stay in Lebanon”
A little earlier, French Foreign Minister Sebastien Lecorny, speaking on public French television France 5, emphasized that the blue-collar workers have a “mission to stay” in Lebanon.
“The day the guns fall silent, there will always be this Blue Line (i.e. the border between Israel and Lebanon), there will be resolution 1701 or a new resolution, there will always be a zone that we will have to secure its neutrality”said the French minister.
“The United Nations assigned (the mandate) to these forces and it is up to the United Nations to withdraw it, unless an annulment order is given by the contracting countries”he added.
The European countries participating in UNIFIL (Italy, France, Spain and Ireland) will meet on Wednesday to coordinate their actions. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has already stated that “there will be no withdrawal of UNIFIL”.
Hammering in northern Lebanon
At least 21 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a Christian village in northern Lebanon, the country’s health ministry announced. It is the first time that the village of Aito has been targeted since the war between Hezbollah and Israel broke out on September 23. According to the ministry’s announcement, “21 people were killed and 8 injured in the attack by the Israeli enemy in Aito, Zgarta district.” The ministry clarified that the tally is provisional.
The target was an apartment, the Lebanese news agency ANI reported. A security official told AFP that the building housed many families displaced from southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s stronghold.
The bombing took place “as soon as a man drove up” in front of the building, added the source, who asked not to be named.
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