Hezbollah pounds Galilee with over 100 rockets, causing heavy damage but no injuries
Home in Kiryat Shmona takes direct hit, with owner saying his parents’ home was hit when he was a kid; firefighters tackle blazes sparked by rockets
More than 100 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel on Wednesday, sparking fires and causing damage but no injuries, authorities said.
Within an hour just before noon, some 65 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Galilee Panhandle area, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Several rockets impacted the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, causing damage to at least one home, local authorities said.
The IDF said some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses. Others hit open areas, sparking fires. Firefighters were working to extinguish the blazes.
The Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah took responsibility for the barrage, claiming to have targeted Israeli military positions.
Later in the day, one projectile was fired from Lebanon at the border community of Shtula, and another five rockets were launched at Zar’it in the Western Galilee, according to the IDF.
In the evening hours, the IDF said that one anti-tank guided missile was fired from Lebanon at the Kiryat Shmona area, and a barrage of some 30 rockets was launched at the Galilee Panhandle.
The military said that some of the rockets were intercepted while others impacted open areas, sparking fires near Kfar Blum.
There were no injuries in the attacks, claimed by Hezbollah.
Israeli fighter jets struck also Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon Kounine and Qabrikha, which were used in previous attacks on Israel, the IDF said.
The military released footage of the strikes.
Later Wednesday, the IDF said that it struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Houla where several Hezbollah operatives were identified.
Eliezer Peretz, whose home in Kiryat Shmona was struck by a rocket, told the Walla news outlet that he had been in the northern city of Safed, where he runs a market stall, when he received a call from his municipality telling him that his home had taken a direct hit.
Peretz said he had still not seen the damage but that officials told him it was heavy.
“This is really hard,” Peretz said, explaining that it was a brand new home for him and his family.
“My wife and I put a lot of energy and money into it,” he said. “This is a really harsh situation and you can’t get used to it.”
“The important thing is that we are healthy and well,” he said. “What was destroyed we will rebuild.”
As a child growing up in the city, he said his parents’ home had also been hit by a rocket from Lebanon.
“I grew up in this reality,” he said.
The Peretz family, along with the rest of Kirya Shmona, was evacuated to a hotel in Tiberias when fighting in the north started last year. Tens of thousands of northern residents were moved to safer areas and have still not returned to their homes.
Earlier Wednesday, the IDF said it struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Zibqin, used in a previous attack on Israel. Buildings used by Hezbollah in Khiam and Ayta ash-Shab were also struck, the military added.
Meanwhile, overnight, a drone heading toward Israel from the eastern direction was shot down by air defenses, the IDF said.
The military said the drone did not enter Israeli airspace.
The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility for launching the drone, claiming it tried to target the Haifa port.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed dozens of drone attacks on Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with the IDF reporting downing many of them. Many of the militia’s claims have been exaggerated, but in one case it managed to hit an Israeli Navy base in Eilat, causing damage.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war against the Hamas terror group there. More than 8,000 rockets have been fired at Israel from Lebanon since the start of the war.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 20 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 432 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 76 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
War in Gaza erupted when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The 3,000 terrorists who burst into the country also abducted 251 people who were taken hostage to Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign to destroy Hamas, topple its Gaza regime, and rescue the hostages.
International mediators are striving to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Ending the fighting in Gaza is seen as a key step toward calming the situation in the north, where the spiraling violence has stoked fears it could explode into a full-blown war.
No comments:
Post a Comment