[ad_1]
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A drone strike hit central Israel on Sunday, wounding more than 60 people, some of them critically, rescue services said, in one of the bloodiest attacks in Israel in a year of war. The Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group claimed responsibility, saying it targeted a military camp.
Hezbollah said the strike was retaliation for two Israeli strikes in Beirut on Thursday that killed 22 people.
With Israel’s advanced air-defense systems, it’s rare for so many people to be hurt by drones or missiles. Israeli media reported that two drones were launched from Lebanon, and the military said one was intercepted.
It was not immediately clear whether military members were hurt or what was hit in the city of Binyamina. There were no details from Israel’s military, which earlier reported that at least 115 rockets were fired from Lebanon.
It was the second time in two days that a drone has struck in Israel. On Saturday, during the Israeli holiday of Yom Kippur, one hit a suburb of Tel Aviv, causing damage but no injuries.
The latest strike came on the same day that the United States announced it would send a new air-defense system to Israel to help bolster its protection against missiles, along with the troops needed to operate it. An Israeli army spokesperson declined to provide a timeline.
Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — both Iran-backed militant groups — and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when. Iran has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.
Netanyahu calls U.N. peacekeepers ‘human shield’ for Hezbollah
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL said Israeli tanks forcibly entered the gates of one of its positions early Sunday and destroyed the main gate, and later fired smoke rounds near peacekeepers in that location, causing skin irritation. UNIFIL said the incident was a “further flagrant violation of…
[ad_2]
