Hezbollah drone attack wounds 18 IDF soldiers, one seriously
Gaza terrorists fire 20 rockets into southern Israel, causing no damage or injuries according to the IDF.
Israel's air-defense systems fire interception missiles at Hezbollah rockets from Lebanon near the northern city of Safed, June 27, 2024.
Eighteen Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded, one seriously, by a Hezbollah suicide drone attack near a kibbutz in the northern Golan Heights on Sunday afternoon, the army confirmed.
According to the IDF Home Front Command, several suspicious “aerial targets” infiltrated from Lebanon around 4 p.m. on Sunday, setting off air raid sirens in the Galilee panhandle and northern Golan Heights.
According to local media reports, one of the UAVs impacted in the area of Kibbutz Merom Golan, wounding troops stationed there.
Haifa’s Rambam Hospital confirmed on Sunday night that three wounded soldiers were brought to its emergency room by helicopter. One was listed as being in serious condition and required surgery.
“Two victims arrived in mild to moderate condition; they are conscious and suffering from shrapnel injuries,” said a spokesperson for the hospital, adding that, “in the evening, another casualty was brought in; he is also conscious and will remain under observation.”
Hezbollah has attacked Israel’s north nearly every day since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, firing thousands of suicide drones, rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israeli border towns, killing more than 20 people and causing widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israeli civilians remain internally displaced due to the ongoing violence.
The Iran-backed terror group took responsibility for Sunday’s attack, claiming it sent a “swarm of drones” towards an Israeli military site in response to Israeli Air Force strikes against targets in Southern Lebanon.
Israel’s Ynet news outlet reported that Hezbollah claimed at least nine attacks on the Jewish state on Sunday, including the launch of a volley of heavy Falaq rockets towards Moshav Beit Hillel in the Eastern Galilee.
In another incident, three anti-tank missiles were fired at the city of Metula. One of the missiles hit a residential building, one fell in a nearby orchard and the third exploded in Lebanese territory, Ynet reported. No injuries were reported in the northern city, which is largely evacuated.
In response, IAF jets struck a series of Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon overnight, the IDF announced on Sunday morning. The targets included buildings used by the terror group and other infrastructure in Kafr Kila, Houla, El Biyada and Rab El Thalathine, according to the IDF.
Last month, the IDF formally “authorized and validated” operational plans for a campaign aimed at pushing Hezbollah north of the Litani River, which was also the stated goal of 2006’s UNSC Resolution 1701.
On Saturday, Iran threatened that an Israeli military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon could lead to an “obliterating war” with all of Tehran’s terror proxies, adding that “all options are on the table.”
The threat, posted to the account of Iran’s mission to the United Nations, added that the regime regards the IDF’s declaration that it has approved the military operation in Lebanon as “psychological warfare.”
During meetings in Washington last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed that while Jerusalem prefers a diplomatic solution, it will take whatever action is required to restore security to the north.
“We do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario,” Gallant stated following the meetings. Jerusalem has emphasized that any deal “will not be an agreement on paper” but must include “the physical removal of Hezbollah from the border, and we will have to enforce it.”
In a video statement published last week, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed to fight the Jewish state “without restraints, without rules, without limits” should war be “imposed” on Lebanon. He has also threatened that an “invasion of the Galilee remains on the table.”
Ynet reported on Sunday that the Islamic Republic has been accelerating weapons shipments to Hezbollah in recent weeks. The smuggled arms include air defense systems to fend off IAF strikes, as well as Almas (“Diamond”) advanced anti-tank-guided missile systems.
Israeli soldiers at the site of a major fire caused by rockets from Lebanon on June 14, 2024 near Kibbutz Kfar Szold in northern Israel.
Gaza rocket attacks continue
Terrorists in Gaza’s Khan Younis area on Monday morning launched a volley of some 20 rockets towards Israeli border towns, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
A number of rockets impacted in open areas inside Israeli territory, while air-defense systems intercepted several others, the IDF stated, adding that no damage or casualties were reported.
“IDF forces are now attacking the sources of the fire with artillery,” said the army.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attack, claiming to have targeted Kibbutz Kissufim, Ein Hashlosha, Nirim, Sufa and Holit “with concentrated rocket barrages in response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people.”
One week ago, Islamic Jihad launched two rockets toward the southern coastal city of Ashkelon and the border town of Kibbutz Mefalsim. Both were intercepted.
Early last month, the IDF revealed that since the start of the war, more than 19,000 rockets have been launched into Israel, mainly from Gaza.
The tally does not include rockets that fall short of Israeli territory. Nor does it include Hezbollah anti-tank missiles.
On June 23, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that with the fighting in Gaza winding down, the IDF will deploy more troops to the northern border.
“The intense phase of the fighting against Hamas is about to end,” the premier told Israel’s Channel 14, adding: “It doesn’t mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah.”
He added that the Israeli military would continue to “mow the grass” in Gaza constantly to prevent the enclave from becoming a threat again.
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