Seven Fatalities in Israel from Hezbollah Rocket Attacks, Deadliest in Months

Authorities report that seven individuals have died in northern Israel due to two distinct rocket assaults by Hezbollah, making it the most lethal day for such attacks in several months. According to Israeli and Thai officials, an Israeli farmer and four Thai agricultural laborers lost their lives when rockets struck close to Metula, a community situated on the Lebanese border. Subsequently, an Israeli woman and her grown son were killed in an olive grove situated near Kibbutz Afek, which lies on the periphery of the coastal city of Haifa. Hezbollah stated that it launched multiple rocket barrages targeting the Krayot area, located north of Haifa, and Israeli forces positioned south of the Lebanese town of Khiam, which is directly opposite Metula across the border. On Thursday morning, the Israeli military detected two projectiles that had crossed from Lebanon and landed in an open space near Metula. Local media identified the deceased Israeli farmer as Omer Weinstein, a 46-year-old father of four residing in the adjacent Kibbutz Dafna. On Friday, Maris Sangiampongsa, Thailand’s Foreign Minister, announced that four Thai citizens had died due to rocket attacks, further noting that a fifth Thai worker sustained injuries. Online videos depicted their transfer via helicopter to the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Mr. Weinstein and the foreign laborers were present in an agricultural field close to the border fence when the assault occurred. The publication quoted a member of the local emergency response team who stated that the Israeli military had granted them permission to access the area, even though Metula is situated within a closed military zone. The military had established this zone at the close of September, preceding its ground invasion of Lebanon, which was intended to dismantle Hezbollah’s weaponry and infrastructure. The second rocket attack on Thursday reportedly struck an agricultural zone near Kibbutz Afek, located approximately 65km (40 miles) south-west of Metula and 28km from the Lebanese frontier. The military indicated that a total of 55 projectiles were launched towards the Western Galilee region, the location of the kibbutz, along with the Central Galilee and Upper Galilee, during the early afternoon. It further noted that some projectiles were intercepted, while others landed in open spaces. Haaretz reported that Mina Hasson, aged 60, and her 30-year-old son, Karmi, died when a rocket struck an olive grove where they had been harvesting olives. The Magen David Adom ambulance service stated that a 70-year-old man also sustained minor shrapnel injuries and was transported to Rambam hospital. MDA paramedics Mazor and Yishai Levy informed the Jerusalem Post, “We were called to the olive grove and saw a man in his 30s lying on the ground, unconscious.” They continued, “We began resuscitation efforts while conducting further searches, during which we located another casualty, also in critical condition with multi-system injuries. We provided her with medical treatment and performed resuscitation, but unfortunately, we had to pronounce both of them dead.” Concurrently, the head of the Irish military reported that a UN peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon, where Irish troops are stationed, was struck by a rocket launched towards Israel on Wednesday evening. Lt Gen Sean Clancy stated that the rocket impacted an uninhabited section of Camp Shamrock, located 7km (4 miles) from the Israeli border, resulting in negligible ground damage and no injuries. Irish premier Simon Harris commented: “Thankfully everyone is safe but it is completely unacceptable that this happened. Peacekeepers are protected under international law and the onus is on all sides to ensure that protection.” These fatal rocket assaults in northern Israel coincided with a meeting in Jerusalem between two US special envoys and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where they discussed a potential ceasefire agreement to conclude the conflict with Hezbollah. In a statement, Netanyahu’s office reported that he informed Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk that the primary concern was what he termed Israel’s capacity to “thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon in a way that will return our residents safely to their homes”. Israel initiated an offensive against Hezbollah, which it designates as a terrorist organization, following nearly a year of cross-border hostilities ignited by the conflict in Gaza. It declared its intention to guarantee the secure return of tens of thousands of inhabitants from northern Israeli border regions who had been displaced by rocket attacks, which Hezbollah commenced in solidarity with Palestinians the day after its ally Hamas’s lethal assault on Israel on 7 October 2023. Lebanese authorities indicate that over 2,800 individuals have been killed in Lebanon since that time, with 2,200 of those deaths occurring in the last five weeks, and an additional 1.2 million people have been displaced. Israeli authorities report that Hezbollah’s rocket, drone, and missile attacks have resulted in the deaths of over 60 people in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military announced that its forces were maintaining operations within southern Lebanon and that its aircraft had targeted numerous Hezbollah sites across the nation. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health ministry stated that Israeli strikes had claimed the lives of six paramedics in three southern towns. It reported that four paramedics from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Society’s Civil Defence branch, which offers emergency services, died when Israeli forces attacked a gathering point at Derdghaya junction. According to the ministry, a fifth IHS paramedic was killed in an air strike that hit a vehicle in Deir al-Zahrani, and another strike in Zefta resulted in the death of a paramedic from the Islamic Risala Scout Association, which is allied with the Hezbollah-affiliated Amal movement. The Israeli military offered no immediate statement. However, dozens of paramedics and other emergency personnel have been killed or injured since the military escalated its air campaign against Hezbollah five weeks prior. The military has previously alleged that Hezbollah utilizes ambulances for transporting weapons and combatants. The IHS has refuted any connections to military operations. Additionally, new Israeli strikes occurred near Baalbek, located in the eastern Bekaa Valley, one day after the Israeli military had mandated the evacuation of the entire city and two adjacent towns. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported the death of a woman in a strike within the Kayyal area. It also stated that six more individuals died when a house was bombed in Maqna, a location 5km north-east of Baalbek that was not part of the evacuation zone.