Four Israeli soldiers killed & 60 wounded in Hezbollah drone swarm attack on base – the deadliest since Lebanon invasion
FOUR Israeli soldiers have been killed after a Hezbollah drone strike on an army base.
Sergeant Omri Tamari, Sergeant Yosef Hieb, Sergeant Yoav Agmon and Sergeant Alon Amitay, all 19, died in the attack near Binyamina in central Israel.
Hezbollah said it had targeted a base belonging to the IDF’s Golani Brigade with a “swarm of drones“.
It is the deadliest strike by the terror group since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon nearly two weeks ago.
Israel’s military said 61 were wounded – with seven severely injured.
The drone strike hit shortly before 7pm on Sunday, hitting a packed dining hall inside the base, according to local reports.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “The IDF has full operational control over the incident.
“We will investigate how a UAV can breach without warning and hit a base.
“We are required to provide better protection. We will investigate this incident, learn from it and improve.”
Hezbollah said the attack was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut last Thursday that left 22 people dead.
A man who was injured in the strike told The Jerusalem Post “there was no way to escape”.
He said: “There was an explosion with no siren beforehand.
“Then there were three warnings to prepare for impact. It fell on us out of nowhere. There was no way to escape.
“A lot of people were hurt. I can’t describe in words what happened because it’s tragic.”
According to the Times of Israel, Hezbollah launched two “Misrad” drones into Israeli airspace from the sea.
The Alma Center, an Israeli research institute, said the drone has a 120-kilometre assault range and a top speed of 370 kilometres per hour.
It has the capacity to carry up to 40 kilograms of explosives, and the ability to fly up to 3,000 metres, the institute says.
One of the drones was reportedly shot down off the coast, north of Haifa.
After Sunday night’s strike, Hezbollah threatened more attacks.
It vowed the attack “in southern Haifa is nothing compared to what awaits it if it decides to continue its aggression against our… people”.
It claimed the strike was a “complex” operation – and said the drone “exploded in the room where dozens of officers and soldiers of the Israeli enemy were present”.
With Israel’s top air-defence systems, it is rare for so many people to be injured by drones or missiles.
Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily since the war in Gaza began – and fighting has escalated in recent weeks.
Israel launched its ground operation in Lebanon earlier this month with the goal of weakening Hezbollah and pushing the terror group away from the border to allow displaced Israelis to return.
Earlier on Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promised that Israel would never let Hezbollah regroup along the Lebanon border.
He said: “These are military targets containing underground tunnels and weapon storages.
“Our troops found hundreds of RPGs, munitions, and anti-tank missiles here.
“The IDF is currently destroying these weapons above and under the ground.”
He said he has “instructed the IDF… to ensure that terrorists cannot return to these places”.
The IDF said some 100 Hezbollah operatives have been killed over the last week – and claimed more than 50 Hezbollah rocket launchers and 60 command centres have been destroyed.
But Avraham Levine, an analyst with Israeli think-tank Alma, said it’s likely Hezbollah was “well prepared and waiting” for Israeli troops.
He said: “The fact that the chain of command has been damaged does not take away the ability to shoot Israeli communities or try to hit,” describing Hezbollah as “the same powerful terror army we all know”.
Hezbollah’s deadly strike on the Israeli base came the same day the US said it would send a new air defences to help bolster protection against missiles.
Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – both Iran-backed militant groups – and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month.
Gallant said Israel will hit Iran in a way that will be “lethal, precise and surprising”.
And Iran has vowed to respond to any Israeli attack – saying it has “no red lines”.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said: “While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests.”
Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, Israeli air and ground forces have been attacking Jabaliya – where the military says terrorists have regrouped.
Israel has ordered the full evacuation of northern Gaza – including Gaza City.
On Monday, at least 10 people were killed in Israeli strikes in northern Gaza.
And Israeli’s military said it hit Hezbollah targets overnight in Lebanon’s southern city of Nabatiyeh.