Approximately five rockets fired by Hezbollah struck Haifa, Israel’s northern port city, late Sunday, causing damage and injuring eight people, Israeli authorities reported.
A Haifa municipality spokesperson noted that this incident marked the first time the city had been targeted since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
The Israeli military has launched an investigation into the failure of its air defenses to intercept the incoming rockets, while Hezbollah claimed to have targeted a military base south of Haifa.
In a separate incident, a rocket barrage hit Tiberias, a town located east of the Sea of Galilee, injuring one person.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets launched a fresh wave of airstrikes in Beirut, targeting Hezbollah strongholds, according to the Israeli military.
The military announced the deployment of a third division to southern Lebanon, bolstering its ground presence in the region, where Hezbollah fighters are reportedly targeting Israeli troops in border villages.
The Israeli government has vowed to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes near the Lebanese border, following a year of cross-border clashes sparked by the Gaza conflict.
Hostilities have escalated steadily since Hezbollah began launching rocket attacks into northern Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of Palestinians, a day after its ally Hamas’s deadly assault on southern Israel. Despite suffering significant losses in recent weeks, Hezbollah remains defiant, asserting its confidence in repelling Israeli aggression.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Hezbollah launched a barrage of over 135 rockets into northern Israel on Sunday.
At 23:22 local time (20:22 GMT), air raid sirens blared in Haifa’s Carmel and Bay areas, prompting warnings of incoming projectiles. Approximately five rockets crossed the border from Lebanon, according to an IDF statement.
“Interceptors were fired. Fallen projectiles were identified in the area. The incident is under review,” it added.
Eliran Tal, Haifa municipality spokesperson, confirmed to the BBC that rocket fire struck two neighborhoods within the city.
The BBC’s verification team geolocated CCTV footage capturing the exact moment a rocket struck a roundabout adjacent to a supermarket and multiple residential buildings in Haifa’s western sector.
Tal Rosen, an emergency services member, recounted his experience to Reuters News Agency, describing how he was inside his home, approximately 500 meters away, when the explosion shook the area.
“In the beginning, we didn’t find any injuries and then I saw in this building,” he said, pointing to damaged windows on the side of a nearby apartment block. “There were shards of glass in this building. I went inside and I found four people with minor to moderate injuries.”
Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service reported treating two individuals: a 13-year-old boy with moderate shrapnel injuries to the head and a 22-year-old man with blast and head injuries sustained from falling through a window.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, stating they launched Fadi 1 rockets at the Carmel base south of Haifa in retaliation for Israel’s airstrike that killed their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, last month.
However, Tal Rosen disputed Hezbollah’s claim, labeling it “an attack on the civilian population.” He estimated that 95% of Haifa’s 280,000 residents remained in the city.
“With missile threats from the north, it is not an easy period of time. But we are strong,” he said.
“We went through a lot of tragedy like this – and I hope the IDF and the leadership will do their best to push the enemy far from the border.”
A man in his 20s is recovering in serious but stable condition after sustaining shrapnel injuries to his chest and abdomen during a separate rocket attack in Tiberias, approximately 50 kilometers east of Haifa.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that around 15 projectiles crossed the border from Lebanon simultaneously with the Haifa attack, with some intercepted and others hitting the area.
The Israeli police confirmed that the assault resulted in damage to several buildings and properties.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world
