The Israel Defense Forces early on Wednesday morning intercepted a surface-to-surface missile fired from Lebanon at central Israel.
Sirens were activated across the Gush Dan and Sharon regions, including in Tel Aviv, amid the intensifying conflict with Hezbollah.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said it had not received any reports of injuries in the attack.
The projectile was reportedly downed by the David’s Sling system, which supplements the defense provided by the Iron Dome, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3.
David’s Sling can intercept “large-caliber rockets, short-range ballistic missiles and other developing threats,” according to the Israeli Air Force.
The IDF Home Front Command said there was no change in directives for residents of central Israel, and that schools would open as usual.
Shortly following the attack, the Israeli Air Force struck the launcher from which the missile was fired in the area of Nafakhiyeh, located some 12 miles to the east of Tyre in Lebanon.
Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, which was reportedly the first time that a missile was fired from Lebanon at central Israel. The terrorist group claimed that it fired the missile at the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency because “the location is responsible for the explosion of beepers and communication devices and the elimination of senior officials.”
Hezbollah blamed Israel for last week’s series of deadly pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon that killed and wounded thousands of terrorists. Israel has not taken responsibility for those attacks but has taken credit for the recent targeting of high-ranking Hezbollah officials in Beirut.
On Monday afternoon, a Hezbollah rocket hit near the Israeli city of Ariel in central Samaria.
“Following the alerts that were activated at 5:12 p.m. in the Samaria area, approximately 10 launches were detected that crossed from the territory of Lebanon [into Israel], and falls were detected in an open area,” the IDF confirmed.
The rocket struck just outside a pre-military academy in Peduel, located just east of the security barrier in northern Samaria and less than 10 miles from Israel’s central region.
Damage was also caused to houses in the Palestinian village of Deir Istiya, Israel’s Army Radio reported.
On Sept. 15, Israeli air defenses intercepted fragments of a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen that exploded over central Israel.
Last month, Hamas fired two rockets from Gaza at Tel Aviv, in the Palestinian terror group’s first such attack since May. One rocket landed in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of central Israel, and the other fell short inside the Strip, according to the IDF.
In July, a Houthi drone killed a man in Tel Aviv, in response to which Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah port. The Iranian terror proxy has launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in support of Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force has struck over 1,600 Hezbollah terror targets in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley since Sunday, as part of “Operation Northern Arrows.”
On Tuesday, a 25-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel during a Hezbollah rocket barrage from Lebanon towards the Mount Carmel area of northern Israel.
The Iranian terror proxy has fired more than 8,800 rockets, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) toward Israel since Oct. 8. The strikes have forced over 60,000 Israelis to evacuate from northern communities, severely impacting daily life in the region. JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}
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