Four Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah drone strike

At least four soldiers have been killed and around 60 others severely wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central Israel.

It’s the deadliest strike by the militant group on Israeli territory since the IDF launched its ground operation into Lebanon nearly two weeks ago.

“It was a difficult scene. The impact of the drone strike caused injuries due to the blast and shrapnel, serious injuries. The injured needed life-saving treatment and life-saving medical treatment and were quickly evacuated to the hospitals,” said one of the paramedics who attended the scene, Rafi Sheva.

Hezbollah said the attack near Binyamina was in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut on Thursday that killed 22 people.

The group said it targeted Israel’s elite Golani brigade, launching dozens of missiles to occupy Israeli air defence systems during the assault by “squadrons” of drones.

That missile barrage set off air raid sirens further north in the city of Haifa.

Israel has advanced air-defence systems, so it’s rare for so many people to be injured by drones or missiles.

That attack comes on the same day the United States said it would send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery and troops to Israel, prompting Iran to warn Washington to keep American military forces out of Israel.

Hezbollah is ideologically aligned with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas and began firing at Israel a day after the war in the strip started in October last year, it says in support of the Palestinians.

Those almost daily exchanges of fire have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Israel carried out increasingly heavy strikes into parts of Lebanon far from the southern border, including the capital Beirut, and at the end of September launched a ground offensive in the country.

It’s estimated there are 15,000 Israeli soldiers operating in Lebanon.

Hezbollah meanwhile has expanded its rocket fire to more populated areas deeper inside Israel, causing few casualties but disrupting daily life.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since September, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were Hezbollah fighters.

At least 58 people have been killed in rocket attacks on Israel, nearly half of them soldiers.