CNN —
More than 60 people have been injured, several in critical condition, in a drone attack in north-central Israel, according to first responders.
There were no direct official reports of deaths from the attack, but the high number of injured (the rescue service United Hazara said it had “provided aid to more than 60 injured people”) led to the war in October last year. It is one of the bloodiest incidents since the beginning of the war.
The news came after Hezbollah announced on Sunday that it had launched a swarm of drones at an Israeli infantry training camp in Binyamina, a town north of Tel Aviv about 60 miles from the Lebanese border. The Lebanese-based militant group said the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Thursday that killed 22 people and injured 117 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Hezbollah said it targeted the Golani Brigade, an infantry unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah’s statement came shortly after the militant group released an audio message from slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, calling on its members to “defend our people, our families, our nation, our values and dignity.” .
CNN cannot confirm whether the drone struck the IDF training camp, but the IDF said Sunday that a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) launched from Lebanon crashed near Binyamina. Earlier on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had intercepted a drone launched by Lebanon, but did not specify the location. It was not immediately clear if this was the same incident that caused the injuries.
Israel’s air defense systems tend to be very reliable, but there were no reports Sunday that there was any alert in the Binyamina area at the time of the attack, leaving no idea how the drone could have penetrated deep into Israeli territory without being detected. The question arose as to whether it was possible.
Sunday’s drone attack came two days after another attack in which the IDF said two drones were launched from Lebanon. He said he had intercepted one of the drones, but did not say what happened to the other one. Friday’s attack set off warning sirens and damaged a nursing home in the central Israeli coastal city of Herzliya, but no casualties were reported.
In Sunday’s attack, United Hazaras said helicopters and ambulances had evacuated all the injured, saying their injuries ranged from “serious” and “serious” to “moderate and minor injuries.” There is.
The Binyamina attack occurred nearly two weeks after Israel launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon. The IDF insists the operation is “localized” and “limited,” even though realities on the ground suggest it may be preparing for a broader invasion.
The IDF has ordered the evacuation of a quarter of Lebanese territory and deployed troops from four different IDF divisions to the border area, while heavy artillery operations continue.
More than 1,500 people have been killed and more than 8,000 injured in Lebanon since September 16, when Israel stepped up attacks against Hezbollah, according to a CNN tally from the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Those injured in Binyamina were taken to hospitals across Israel. Hillel Jaffe Medical Center in north-central Israel said it was treating 36 casualties from what it described as a “drone accident,” adding that there were “varying degrees of injuries.”
Sheva Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Ramat Gan told CNN it is treating three people injured in the Binyamina incident, two of whom are in critical condition, while Haifa’s Ramban Hospital is treating three more. He said he was undergoing treatment.
Emek Medical Center in northern Israel said it was treating four injured people. Beilinson Hospital said it was treating three more people, and Bnei Zion Medical Center in Haifa said it was treating three more people.
CNN has reached out to the IDF for further information.
