HEZBOLLAH ROCKETS STRIKE HAIFA

Hezbollah rocket hits Haifa synagogue an hour after prayers

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav called it "divine providence" that the attack had not resulted in a mass casualty event 

 

By Joshua Marks

 

JNS

Nov 17, 2024

 

 

 

Damage to synagogue in Haifa after Hezbollah rocket barrage November 16, 2024

 

A Hezbollah rocket struck a synagogue in Haifa on Saturday, one hour after a prayer service concluded.

The Avot Ubanim synagogue complex suffered major damage from the strike, but no one was hurt. 

“This is divine providence,” Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav told Israel Hayom.

Five people were lightly injured on the way to bomb shelters in various areas of Haifa during the barrage.

 

 

The aftermath of a direct hit by a Hezbollah missile in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, Nov. 17, 2024. 

Hezbollah fired 10 rockets in the barrage, setting off sirens in the Haifa Bay area, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Some of the projectiles were intercepted. 

Fires in Haifa and the surrounding area were reported after the attack, as well as widespread power outages in the Carmel Center neighborhood.

“All emergency organizations arrived quickly,” said Amir Herel, commander of the Haifa district in the IDF Home Front Command, according to Israel Hayom.

“There were no people in the synagogue, but in the surrounding buildings there were people who experienced a significant blast,” he said. “But as I said, most of the damage is not physical. There’s damage in many apartments, mainly windows. Some vehicles were also burned.”

Hezbollah fired a total of 80 projectiles into Israeli territory on Saturday, according to the IDF.

On Sunday morning, 20 rockets were launched at the Haifa Bay and Western Galilee regions, some of which were intercepted and some of which impacted in open areas, the IDF said.

Sirens also sounded in Acre and the Upper Galilee during the morning hours.

On Sunday afternoon, one Israeli was lightly wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack targeting the Upper Galilee. The victim, who was conscious, was treated at the scene by paramedics, the Magen David Adom emergency response group said in a statement.