IDF says over 50 rockets fired at north overnight; some damage, no injuries
Missiles slam into Kiryat Shmona, hitting building and sidewalk; Hezbollah claims responsibility, says barrage revenge for Israeli strike the previous day that killed three
More than 50 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Galilee Panhandle and Kiryat Shmona area overnight, the military said Sunday morning, with damage reported by no injuries.
First, some 20 rockets were fired at around 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., with the Israel Defense Forces reporting that most of the projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, although some impacted Kiryat Shmona, causing damage.
The terror group Hezbollah claimed responsibility, saying it targeted Kiryat Shmona in revenge for an Israeli strike Saturday in Lebanon that local officials claimed killed three emergency workers in the town of Froun.
The IDF said that at least two of those killed were members of the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, and that they were operating out of a Hezbollah compound in Froun. Amal also claimed two of the people as its members.
According to the Kiryat Shmona municipality, one rocket scored a direct hit on an unspecified building while a second hit a sidewalk, with both causing extensive damage.
“There is damage to the building, to property, to infrastructure, and to a parked car,” the city said.
בזמן שישנתם בגליל העליון ובקריית שמונה מעל 100 שיגורים.
אבל זה לא תל אביב, זה הצפון זה לא מעניין את הצבא היקר והממלכתי שלנו. הם ישנו טוב הלילה. pic.twitter.com/h5dWSKWVGJ— ???????? נועם אמיר (@noamamir74) September 8, 2024
Crews scanned the city to find if there were any more impacts, but were impeded somewhat by the late-night darkness, the spokesperson said.
Then, at around 5:30 a.m., a barrage of another 30 rockets was fired from Lebanon, according to the military, which said that some were intercepted and the remainder hit open areas.
Hezbollah also took responsibility for this barrage as well, saying it fired a volley of Katyusha rockets at the community of Shamir, a kibbutz in the far eastern Galilee bordering the Golan Heights.
Unlike many other towns that usually come under rocket fire, Shamir has not been officially evacuated by the government. The kibbutz lies some nine kilometers (5.5 miles) from the Lebanese border.
Overnight attacks on northern Israel are relatively uncommon and often reflect an increase in tensions.
Meanwhile, the IDF confirmed reports that its fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Aitaroun, Maroun al-Ras, and Yaroun overnight, releasing footage of the strikes.
במהלך הלילה, מטוסי קרב תקפו מבנים צבאיים ששימשו את ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים עיתרון, מארון א-ראס ויארון שבדרום לבנון.
אמש, כלי טיס תקף וחיסל מחבלים של ארגון הטרור אמל שפעלו בתוך מתחם צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב פארון שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/EVVqArBCsX
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 8, 2024
The towns are all relatively close to the part of southern Lebanon that borders the Galilee Panhandle, a finger of land that is home to Kiryat Shmona.
In Froun on Saturday, a military statement said Israeli forces “struck and eliminated” Amal members who “operated within a Hezbollah military structure.”
Hezbollah ally Amal said two of its members were among the dead in the strike. It said they were killed “while carrying out their humanitarian and national duty defending Lebanon and the south.”
The Lebanese health ministry statement condemned the “blatant Israeli attack that targeted a team from an official body of the Lebanese state.”
The ministry said the attack had targeted “a Lebanese civil defense team that was putting out fires sparked by the recent Israeli strikes,” referring to a bombing the day before. It added that the attack was “the second of its kind against an emergency team in less than 12 hours.”
Lebanon’s civil defense agency said three of its employees were killed in “an Israeli strike that targeted a firefighting vehicle after they had finished a firefighting mission.”
Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, saying in a statement that “this new aggression against Lebanon is a blatant violation of international laws… and human values.”
Several militia and terror groups operate health centers and emergency response operations in south Lebanon.
Hezbollah fired around 100 rockets into Israel over the past 24 hours.
A number of communities in the area targeted by Hezbollah remain inhabited, though tens of thousands of residents from the north were evacuated to other areas when the fighting started and have not yet returned to their homes.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, with repeated escalations during 11 months of cross-border violence.
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 433 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 78 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
