A drone launched from Lebanon on Tuesday evening caused widespread alarm across Israel, sending millions into shelters.
For over an hour, Israeli warplanes and helicopters were unable to intercept the drone as it traveled dozens of kilometers.
In a statement on the X platform, the army announced, “Approximately an hour ago, a drone was detected in the Rosh HaNikra area (Ras al-Naqoura near the Lebanon border) and headed toward the Yokneam region (southeast of Haifa). It was under surveillance by the Air Force.”
The statement also mentioned that “sirens were activated in additional areas as part of the alert protocol based on the expected path of the drone, ensuring the safety of citizens.”
Earlier, the army had issued a warning after alert sirens sounded in the Menashe, Upper Galilee, Haifa Bay, Carmel, HaEmekim, and Wadi Ara regions, signaling a possible enemy drone incursion.
⚡️⭕️ The Hezbollah drone is still flying over Haifa – Spokesperson for the “Israeli” army:
“We are making efforts to track the aerial target and intercept it.” pic.twitter.com/P2Ya7JBYLh
— Middle East Observer (@ME_Observer_) October 22, 2024
The Israeli army later claimed that the drone had disappeared.
On the same day, the Lebanese movement Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching a drone attack on the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the settlement of Caesarea, reportedly hitting his bedroom window, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
War on Lebanon
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, on October 7, 2023, the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has engaged directly, but relatively in a limited way in the war against the Israeli occupation.
Israel escalated its aggression with the cyber-terror attacks on September 17 and 18, which claimed the lives of at least 37 people including children, and injured around 3000 others.
This went hand in hand with a series of assassinations of Hezbollah leaders, the last of which was that of the Secretary-General of the resistance party Hassan Nasrallah on September 27.
⚡️Hebrew Media:
What is happening is very strange… Two drones launched by Hezbollah have been flying over the country for more than 30 minutes without being intercepted. Sirens sounded in Haifa, Kiryat Nahariya, and Emekim.
The drone was able to penetrate more than 80KMs. pic.twitter.com/Y38EwAFAMn
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) October 22, 2024
These developments coincided with unprecedented bombings and airstrikes by Israel’s army on different cities across Lebanon particularly in the south, Bekaa and the southern district of Beirut.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on October 17 that 2412 Lebanese were killed and 11285 were injured since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.
The Lebanese Government Emergency Committee announced on October 16 that the number of shelters has reached 1,059 centers, 876 of which stand at maximum capacity.
The Head of the committee, Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin revealed that around “50 thousand families have been displaced to approved shelters, noting that the total number of displaced people exceeds 1.2 million.”
According to the committee, 326,467 Syrians and 124,225 Lebanese crossed into Syrian territory from September 23 to October 14.
(PC, AJA)
