Hezbollah Drone Attack Kills 4 Israeli Soldiers: ‘We are at war’

A Hezbollah strike killed four Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers on Sunday night—all of them 19 years old—and injured dozens of others according to the Israeli military.

Two Hezbollah drones were tracked by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Sunday night—with one shot down off the coast near Haifa. The military lost track of the second drone, which was assumed to have crashed or been intercepted after dropping off IAF radars, according to several reports in Israeli media.

Speaking on Monday at the base that was hit, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is reported by Israeli media to have said, “We are at war, and an attack on a training base in the rear is difficult and the results are painful.”

IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement reported by multiple media sources, that the drone had failed to set off any warning sirens in Israel and the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being examined.

“The IDF has full operational control over the incident,” Hagari said. “We will investigate how a UAV can breach without warning and hit a base.” He added that Israel has faced the threat posed by UAVs “since the beginning of the war.”

“We are required to provide better protection,” he said. “We will investigate this incident, learn from it and improve.”

In Gaza it was reported overnight on Sunday that four people were killed and 20 injured when a tent was hit by an Israeli military aerial attack. Earlier on Sunday, at least 20 people including children were killed when a school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat was hit.

Just over a year after Hamas launched the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel’s history, killing 1,200 people and capturing around 250 hostages, nearly 100 remain in captivity, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive.

Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has killed 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. While officials do not distinguish between civilians and fighters, many women and children are among the dead.

Hezbollah has also joined the fight, launching rockets and drones from Lebanon in solidarity with Hamas in a conflict that has left over 1,400 Lebanese dead according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health with hundreds of thousands displaced.

Hezbollah Targets Israeli Naval Base Near Haifa in Retaliatory Strike

The UK’s Daily Telegraph reported that Hezbollah launched a “rocket salvo” at an Israeli naval base near Haifa on Monday, claiming the attack was in service of their late leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.

While Hezbollah’s claim has not been fully confirmed, the Israeli military reported that around 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Haifa. Most were intercepted, though some landed in open areas without causing damage.

Israeli Cabinet Member Calls UNIFIL a “Useless Force” Amid Escalating Tensions

Israeli cabinet member Eli Cohen took to X to label the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) a “useless force,” criticizing its failure to enforce U.N. Resolution 1701, which was adopted following the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Cohen’s remarks come amid heightened conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with UNIFIL facing scrutiny over its inability to prevent Hezbollah’s military buildup in southern Lebanon. Resolution 1701 called for a demilitarized zone and Hezbollah’s disarmament, which has yet to be fully enforced.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press