UPDATE: According to Israeli media, one Isreali was killed in the explosion of a drone launched by the Lebanese Hezbollah in the city of Nahariya.
An explosion was reported in the Galilee region, in northern Israel, on Tuesday as Isreali media indicated that an Isreali military base may have been targeted.
The Lebanese group Hezbollah confirmed in a statement that it carried out “an air attack with a squadron of attack drones targeting the headquarters of the leadership of the Golani Brigade and the headquarters of Egoz Unit 621 in the ‘Sharaga’ barracks.”
ISRAELI MEDIA: Fire breaks out inside the "Sharaga" camp after a drone attack by Hezbollah.
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The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported that “sirens sounded in the Acre and Nahariyah areas north of Haifa, indicating a possible rocket attack on northern Israel.”
The newspaper also reported that “columns of smoke are rising from a military site in the gulf between Acre and Haifa”.
For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth said that “minutes before the alarms were activated in the Upper Galilee, residents reported the echoes of explosions heard in the Haifa, Kiryat, and Acre areas.”
Sirens ring in Shlomi, Nahariyya, and settlements in northern Akka due to drone infiltration. Missile sirens also sounded in Nahariyya and surrounding settlements.
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Three Drones
The Lebanese Al-Mayadeen news network reported, citing an informed source, that three drones had crossed the border from Lebanon.
According to Israeli media, one was intercepted, while the other two exploded in an open area.
The Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom stated that alarms warning of the intrusion of “hostile aircraft” were initially activated in Hanita, Shlomi, and Batza in Western Galilee.
At a later stage, alarms were triggered in Nahariya and in the settlements of Liman, Batsat, Gesher HaZiv, Sa’ar, the Ghetto Fighters, and the Akziv Milovat industrial area.
ISRAEL HAYOM: Columns of smoke are rising from a military site in the Gulf between Acre and Haifa.
The Lebanese Hezbollah targeted northern Nahariya, resulting in the injury of two people and damage to a car.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) August 6, 2024
Alarms also reportedly sounded in the city of Acre (Akka), and the nearby settlements of Evron, Mazraa, Nativ Shayira, Ben Ami, Shevi Zion, and Regva. Warnings about rocket and missile fire were simultaneously issued for Nahariya, Evron, the Ghetto Fighters, Ben Ami, and Mazraa.
The Israeli Home Front Command confirmed “the event of a hostile aircraft entering the skies of Israel,” claiming that it had ended.
The Director General of the Israeli ambulance service said that several people were injured in the drone strike targeting Western Galilee.
“At least five people were injured by the drone strike in the Western Galilee, including one in a critical condition” according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
Evacuation of the wounded in Nahariya.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) August 6, 2024
The strikes occur despite the state of maximum alert in Israel amid concerns about potential retaliatory actions by Iran and its allies in the region, following the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, on July 31.
Iranian Response
US President Joe Biden met on Monday with his national security team in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, according to Al-Jazeera.
The US has already deployed additional aircraft carriers, fighter jets and warplanes to the region to support Israel amid reports that Iran may retaliate.
Haniyeh’s killing occurred just hours after an Israeli raid in the southern suburbs of Beirut killed prominent Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr.
US Readies for Iranian Response – Biden to Meet National Security Team
Israel has reiterated its military readiness to confront a potential Iranian response to the assassination of Haniyeh and has also left the option open for carrying out “preemptive strikes” against Iran and Hezbollah.
Iran has vowed to respond to the assassination, with Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami stating that Israel will receive a “decisive blow at the right place and time.”
This is a developing story.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
