About 80 rockets targeted several different areas of northern Israel in three separate waves on Tuesday night, as the IDF responded with strikes on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, which media reports said killed at least five people, including three Syrian children.
The first salvo triggered waves of sirens in the border town of Kiryat Shmona and several surrounding areas. The Israeli military later said at least 40 rockets were fired toward the town in the attacks.
Several missiles were shot down by the Iron Dome, but some hit the northern city, causing damage to buildings, police said. No casualties were reported.
Hours later, another wave of 10 rockets fired from Lebanon set off sirens in the Western Galilee, all of which the Israeli military said landed in open areas, causing no injuries.
Shortly before 11 p.m., 20 to 30 rockets were fired toward the Mount Meron area in the Upper Galilee, the Israeli military said. Numerous Iron Dome interceptions were observed over the Mount Meron area.
Several missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while others hit open areas. Some missile impacts started fires. No casualties were reported.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a response to the killing of three Syrian children earlier in the day.
On Tuesday night, the Israeli army announced that it had struck the launcher used in the attack on Kiryat Shmona. The launcher, located in the Jabal Blat area, was targeted by a drone, the army said. In a separate development, the Israeli army said it had targeted a Hezbollah cell in the Yarine area of southern Lebanon.
Lebanese state media said five people were killed in the various Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, including three Syrian children.
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike near the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon on July 16, 2024. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)
“Three Syrian children” were killed “in an enemy raid that targeted farmland in the village of Umm Toot,” the National News Agency (NNA) reported. Umm Toot is located near the Yarine area.
NNA also reported that an “enemy” drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the road to Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon, killing two Syrians. A Lebanese security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told AFP that the two Syrians were “civilians” who were working nearby and had been swimming in the area.
The NNA said that “eyewitnesses reported that the motorcycle was carrying two people and when a number of citizens tried to approach the motorcycle… it was subjected to a second blow.”
The IDF announced Tuesday evening that it had also struck buildings used by Hezbollah in Kafr Kila and Ayta ash-Shab in southern Lebanon. Other Hezbollah infrastructure was hit in Aitaroun and Ayta ash-Shab, the IDF added.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military announced that two Hezbollah members were targeted in a drone strike in Mansouri, southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said the two men were hit after they were identified fleeing a rocket launch site in Kiryat Shmona.
On Monday night, 20 rockets fired from Lebanon targeted Kiryat Shmona. Most of them were intercepted, the Israeli military said, without causing any injuries. Some rockets landed in the largely evacuated city of Kiryat Shmona, including one that hit a shopping mall.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have fired missiles, drones and rockets at Israeli villages and IDF positions in northern Israel almost daily. So far, cross-border attacks have left 12 civilians dead on the Israeli side, as well as 17 IDF soldiers and reservists dead. There have also been several attacks from Syria, with no injuries.
Hezbollah has listed 367 members killed by Israel in the ongoing clashes, mainly in Lebanon but also in Syria. In Lebanon, 66 other members of other terrorist groups, a Lebanese soldier and at least 104 civilians have been killed, according to an AFP tally.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
News Source : www.timesofisrael.com
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