Drone attack kills four Israeli soldiers and injures more than 60
Four soldiers have lost their lives and over 60 others have been injured in a drone strike that targeted an army base in northern Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF reported that seven soldiers sustained serious injuries during the attack on a base “near Binyamina,” a town located approximately 20 miles (33 km) south of Haifa.
Hezbollah has taken responsibility for the strike, stating that it aimed at a training camp of the IDF’s Golani Brigade in the region, situated between Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The group’s media office declared that the drone strike was a retaliation for Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut on Thursday.
Hezbollah claimed to have launched the attack using a “swarm of drones.”
The Israeli ambulance service, Magen David Adom (MDA), reported that 61 individuals were injured in the assault, including three in critical condition. It noted that 37 victims were transported to eight regional hospitals by ambulance or helicopter.
Before the IDF confirmed the fatalities, MDA stated that, in addition to the three critically injured, 18 victims were in moderate condition, 31 suffered minor injuries, and nine individuals were experiencing anxiety.
The reason for the discrepancy in the number of critical injuries between MDA and the IDF is not clear.
Israeli censorship rules had initially prevented media outlets reporting exactly where or what was targeted, before the IDF confirmed it was the Binyamina base.
Some Israeli media outlets have reported the base was hit by a low-level drone launched from Lebanon – a relatively unsophisticated weapon that appears not to have activated early-warning alarms.
Throughout the evening, television bulletins, social media posts and online reports showed footage of emergency vehicles, including helicopters, taking casualties to hospitals across northern Israel.
Many of the wounded have been evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre in nearby Hadera – with others being taken to hospitals in Tel Hashomer, Haifa, Afula and Netanya.
Details are still scarce but many of the injured appear to have been in a communal canteen at the time and were caught completely by surprise. Images circulating on social media appear to show an empty mess hall with a hole in the roof.
