1 month ago
Last Updated: October 14, 2024, 08:08 IST
Jerusalem, Israel
A military ambulance drives near the scene where a drone from Lebanon attacked Israel at Binyamina. Israeli soldiers and a man fold gurneys following a drone attack from Lebanon at Sheba Medical Centre in Ramat Gan, Israel October 13, 2024. (Reuters)
Hezbollah has been regularly firing rockets and drones into Israel for more than a year, but has reached further since the fighting escalated in late September
The Israeli military said four soldiers were killed by a Hezbollah drone strike Sunday on a military base south of Haifa, amid an escalating conflict with the Iran-backed group in Lebanon.
“Yesterday, a UAV launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation hit an army base adjacent to Binyamina,” the military said in a statement. “Four IDF (army) soldiers were killed in the incident and an additional seven were severely injured.”
Earlier Sunday, the Lebanese militant group, which is at war with Israel, said it had launched “a squadron of attack drones” at a military training camp in Binyamina, south of Haifa, in response to Israeli air strikes on the country.
Yesterday, a UAV launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization hit an army base.4 IDF soldiers were killed in the incident.
The IDF shares in the grief of the bereaved families and will continue to accompany them.
We ask to refrain from spreading rumours and the names of…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 13, 2024
Mirsad-1 Used in Binyamina
According to The Jerusalem Post, the drone that Hezbollah used for the strike near Binyamina is believed to be the Mirsad-1, an UAV that the Iran-backed group has deployed for over two decades.
According to the Alma Research Center, the Mirsad-1 can carry up to 40 kilograms of explosives, has a top speed of 370 kilometers per hour, and boasts an operational range of 120 kilometers. The Iran-backed group has used the drone for surveillance and offensive strikes since 2002.
Hezbollah launched multiple drones, based on Iran’s Mohajer-2 model, under the cover of a rocket barrage, to overwhelm Israeli defense systems. The newspaper said that one drone managed to evade detection and crash in the Binyamina area, marking a significant breach in Israeli air defences.
‘Diplomatic pathway’
On Sunday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to the Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Oct. 13 to express his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a drone attack.
“I also reiterated the importance of ensuring the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces and reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible,” Austin said in a post on X. The incident comes two days after air raid sirens sounded in central Israel after two aerial drones entered the country from Lebanon. At least one building north of Tel Aviv was damaged during the incident.
Hezbollah has been regularly firing rockets and drones into Israel for more than a year, but has reached further since the fighting escalated in late September. Israel’s air defences, including the Iron Dome system, have intercepted most of the projectiles, with few casualties caused by strikes or falling debris.
I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Oct. 13 to express my condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a drone attack from Lebanese Hizballah today. I also reiterated the importance of ensuring the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces…— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) October 14, 2024
Peacekeeping force in Lebanon
On Sunday, the United Nations said Israeli tanks had burst through the gates of a base of its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, the latest accusation of Israeli violations and attacks denounced by its own allies.
The UNIFIL peacekeeping force said two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a base and forcibly entered before dawn on Sunday morning. After the tanks left, shells exploded 100 metres away, releasing smoke which blew across the base and sickened U.N. personnel, it said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said militants of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah had fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops, wounding 25 of them.
UNIFIL statement:Early this morning, peacekeepers at a UN position in Ramyah observed three platoons of IDF soldiers crossing the Blue Line into Lebanon.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 13, 2024
The attack was very close to a UNIFIL post and a tank helping evacuate the casualties under fire then backed into the UNIFIL post, it said. “It is not storming a base. It is not trying to enter a base. It was a tank under heavy fire, mass casualty event, backing up to get out of harm’s way,” the military’s international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told reporters.
In a statement, the military said it used a smoke screen to provide cover for the evacuation of the wounded soldiers but its actions posed no danger to the U.N. peacekeeping force. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement addressed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones.”
(With agency inputs)
