Rocket sirens sound in northern Israel in false alarm
IDF says red alert sirens across Galilee were caused by technical error; no rockets reported
Rocket sirens sounded across northern Israel Sunday afternoon in a false alarm.
The IDF said it was investigating reports of air raid sirens sounding in the northern cities of Kiryat Shmona, Tiberias and Safed. The Home Front Command later declared it a false alarm due to technical error.
There were no immediate report of rocket impacts.
Sunday’s incident was the latest in a string of false alarms in recent weeks in which sirens sounded in southern Israel and the Golan Heights.
Alerts rang out in the Golan Heights last month during fighting between Syrian rebels and the Syrian army, but no missiles were found in Israeli territory.
Following sporadic rocket fire at southern Israel, sirens also sounded last month in communities near the Gaza Strip in what was also pronounced a false alarm.
Southern Israel has also experienced bouts of sporadic rocket fire from over the last several weeks, mostly from Salafi groups in Gaza and Sinai.
While Israel’s northern front with Lebanon has been relatively quiet in recent months, analysts predict the Shiite militia Hezbollah possesses hundreds of thousands of missiles capable of striking Israeli territory. During a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, the terrorist group fired approximately 4,000 rockets at northern Israel.