4 wounded, including 2 seriously in Hezbollah rocket, missile attacks on north
Terror group fires rare barrage of 20 rockets at Lower Galilee as a response to IDF strike killing key member of air defense unit in northeastern Lebanon a day earlier
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Four people were wounded, including two seriously, in a series of Hezbollah rocket and missile attacks on northern Israel on Sunday, the military and medical officials said. An American civilian was among those seriously hurt.
In the first attack, on Sunday morning, an Israeli man was seriously wounded after Hezbollah launched a rare barrage of some 20 rockets from Lebanon to target the Lower Galilee, some of the deepest strikes yet into northern Israel.
The terror group claimed to have targeted an Israeli military base just west of Tiberias, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Lebanon border, with dozens of rockets.
Rocket sirens sounded as far as Sde Ilan, a community located some 35 kilometers (21 miles) from the Lebanon border.
It marked Hezbollah’s deepest rocket attack in Israel amid the war. The terror group has launched explosive-laden drones at further ranges previously.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, some of the 20 rockets launched in the barrage were intercepted by air defenses.
One rocket impact, in an open area near the community of Kfar Zeitim, wounded a man, medics said.
Surveillance camera footage shows the Hezbollah rocket impact near the northern community of Kfar Zeitim which seriously wounded an Israeli man. pic.twitter.com/wi3qZSnZrp
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 7, 2024
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said the 28-year-old was taken to Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Tiberias with serious shrapnel wounds.
The rocket attack also sparked fires in several areas in northern Israel.
The Fire and Rescue Service said it was battling blazes near Kidmat Galil Industrial Park, Kfar Zeitim, Lavi, and Hazorim.
Hours later, a barrage of some 20 rockets was launched at the Mount Meron area, the IDF said. Hezbollah took responsibility, claiming to have launched dozens of rockets at a sensitive Israeli air traffic control base atop the mountain.
Footage showed the Iron Dome air defense system shooting down some of the rockets, while others struck the mountain.
Several rocket interceptions and impacts reported in the Mount Meron area, following a barrage launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah. https://t.co/9Yfq9iFLoO pic.twitter.com/BnxNqcCyCm
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 7, 2024
Sirens sounded in several towns surrounding the mountain amid the attack, including Beit Jann.
Hezbollah has attacked Mount Meron, located some eight kilometers (5 miles) from the Lebanon border, several times amid the ongoing war, launching large barrages of rockets at the mountain, as well as guided missiles at the air traffic control base.
The terror group said the barrages were a response to the assassination of one of its members in an IDF drone strike in northeastern Lebanon a day prior.
The strike on Saturday, around 100 kilometers from the Israeli border, killed a key member of Hezbollah’s air defense unit, the military said.

Following the barrages, the IDF said it struck a building used by Hezbollah in Maaroub, in the Tyre district — around 20 kilometers from the Israeli border — and infrastructure in Naqoura.
In a separate attack on Sunday, three people, including an IDF soldier, were wounded by anti-tank guided missiles fired against an army post near the northern community of Zar’it.
عاجل – مسيرة إسرائيلية تشن غارة على بلدة #معروب #جنوب_لبنان pic.twitter.com/S3qUyRlL1k
— nbnlebanon (@nbntweets) July 7, 2024
According to the IDF, two missiles were fired from Lebanon in the attack.
The three victims were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, where one, an American civilian aged 31, was listed in serious condition.
The other two, an Israeli civilian and a soldier, were lightly hurt, according to the IDF and the hospital.
The IDF said it was investigating why the two civilians were at the army post.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack.
In another barrage on Sunday, at least 10 rockets were fired toward the northern city of Safed. According to the IDF, all of the rockets struck open areas, causing no injuries.
Earlier, another two anti-tank missiles were launched from southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab at the Shtula area in northern Israel.
The IDF said no injuries were caused in the attack, and a short while later, fighter jets struck a building used by Hezbollah to carry out the missile fire.
Earlier on Sunday, a suspected drone was shot down by air defenses over the border community of Ramot Naftali, the IDF said.
Sirens had sounded in the community at around 5:30 a.m., due to fears of falling shrapnel.
There were no injuries in the incident.
The IDF published footage showing the interception.
בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו בצפון הארץ לפני זמן קצר, זוהו כ-20 שיגורים שחצו משטח לבנון למרחב הגליל התחתון, חלקם יורטו בהצלחה על ידי לוחמי ההגנה האווירית>> pic.twitter.com/r7AqhJNmEX
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 7, 2024
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 there.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 16 IDF soldiers and reservists.

Hezbollah has named 361 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 65 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
Israel has warned that it can no longer tolerate Hezbollah’s presence along its border, with tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes in the north due to the rocket and drone attacks, and has warned that, should a diplomatic solution not be reached, it will turn to military action to push Hezbollah northward.
While the political leadership has not yet made a decision on launching an offensive in Lebanon and turning the Gaza Strip into the secondary front, the IDF has said it continues to target Hezbollah commanders who were behind attacks on Israel.