Authorities said early Saturday that 19 people were hurt in a missile strike in the Sharon area of Israel after the army verified that three projectiles had been fired into central Israel from Lebanon.
According to Israeli police, all 19 patients were sent to hospitals, with four in “moderate condition.”
Earlier, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical service reported numerous casualties in a hit on the central city of Tira, including a 20-year-old man with shrapnel injuries.
Videos shared by the Israeli Foreign Ministry on social media showed flames and smoke pouring from a building into the street, with emergency responders gathered at the scene.
“This is the result of a direct hit by a Hezbollah rocket on a building in the Israeli Arab town of Tira, injuring 19 civilians,” the ministry said in its post. “We cannot and will not rest until Hezbollah is dismantled.”
The Israeli army stated on Telegram that it had intercepted some of the three projectiles fired from Lebanon.
Tira, a predominantly Arab town, is located approximately 25 kilometres (15 miles) northeast of Tel Aviv, near the West Bank.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has spilled over into Lebanon, where Israel has been conducting air strikes against Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, the Palestinian group.
Since cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah began following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, at least 63 people have died on the Israeli side, according to Israeli sources.
On Thursday, rocket fire from Lebanon killed seven people in Metula, northern Israel, including four Thai farm workers.
Hamas’s October attack on Israel left 1,206 people dead, mostly civilians, based on AFP’s tally from Israeli official sources.
Israel’s retaliatory actions have resulted in 43,259 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, most of whom were civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, regarded as reliable by the United Nations.
