Rockets and drone fire in north cause sirens to sound after 48 hours of quiet

At least 10 rockets and a drone were launched at Israel from Lebanon on Friday as clashes between the IDF and the terror group Hezbollah continued.

The rockets fired from Lebanon struck open areas in the Mount Meron area shortly after 3 p.m., according to the IDF.

The army said no damage or injuries were caused in the attack.

Sirens had sounded in the nearby community of Zivon.

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 military base that sits atop it.

Two hours before the attack, Israeli air defenses shot down a hostile drone that entered the country’s airspace from Lebanon.

Nach fast 2 Tagen ohne Beschuss aus dem #Libanon Richtung #Israel – Alarm in einer Reihe nicht evakuierter Gemeinden im Oberen Galiläa. Das abgeschossene Ziel war eine Drohne. Splitter v. Abschuss verursachten ein Feuer & leichte Schäden an einem Gebäude in Julis. Eine verletzte. pic.twitter.com/a6NkCtgF5u

— Fabian פביאן ????️ (@Fabi_isr) May 3, 2024

Amid the incident, sirens sounded in the Upper Galilee communities of Yanuh-Jat, Klil, Kafr Yasif, Yarka, Abu Snan and Julis.

One woman was slightly injured during the incident from shrapnel that hit her, Magen David Adom medics said.

Shrapnel from the interception also landed on a building in Julis, causing minor damage, the military said.

The drone incident marked the first rocket or drone alert sirens in the country after an almost 48-hour lull.

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 nine civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 11 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Hezbollah has named 290 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 56 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier and at least 60 civilians, three of whom were journalists, have been killed.

As a possible escalation in hostilities looms, the IDF announced that the 282nd Artillery Regiment carried out a snap drill this week simulating war with Hezbollah.

The military said the drill included “rapid deployment of howitzers” and was aimed at simulating “various battle scenarios on the border with Lebanon against the Hezbollah terror group.”

The 282nd Regiment has been deployed to the northern border for the past three months, launching thousands of shells at Hezbollah targets amid the ongoing fighting, the IDF added.

In Syria, eight Syrian soldiers were wounded and “material losses” were caused in an alleged Israeli airstrike on Damascus Thursday evening, Syria’s state-run SANA broadcaster reported, citing a military source.

SANA said Israeli warplanes launched their missiles from over the Golan Heights at a site in the area of the capital.

A security source told Reuters that the strike hit a building operated by Syrian security forces on the outskirts of Damascus.