Tel Aviv/Beirut, Oct 13, (dpa/GNA) – At least 67 people were injured on Sunday in a drone attack on the Israeli town of Binyamina, some 60 kilometres north of Tel Aviv, according to the national emergency service Magen David Adom.
Four of the injured were in critical condition, while 19 others suffered moderate to serious injuries.
The Islamist Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, claimed responsibility, saying it had fired a “squadron of attack drones” at an Israeli military training camp in the town.
Israeli broadcasters reported that many emergency services were at the scene, and no warning sirens had been activated before the projectile hit.
Israel’s elaborate system of air defences usually prevents such mass casualty incidents, despite Hezbollah and other groups regularly launching barrages of drones and other projectiles.
Across the border in Lebanon, the Health Ministry said 51 people were killed and 174 people injured in Israeli attacks on Saturday. The ministry said on Sunday that most of the casualties the day prior were in southern Lebanon, near the city Nabatiyeh.
Amid ongoing aerial attacks from both Hezbollah and Iran, US officials said earlier they would send an advanced air defence battery to Israel, and a contingent of soldiers to help operate it.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery will strengthen Israel’s air defence network, a spokesman said. Washington had already deployed a THAAD battery to the region last year in light of the fighting, although not to Israel itself.
In fighting elsewhere, Hezbollah said Israeli soldiers had attempted to enter the village of Ramyah in the border area.
Hezbollah fighters had detonated an explosive device near the troops. “The clashes are ongoing,” Hezbollah said. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen broadcaster reported that Israeli soldiers had hidden behind a UNIFIL post in Ramyah.
The Israeli army reported that in various clashes, a reservist and an officer were severely injured.
GNA