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Eighteen Israelis, mostly troops, were wounded on April 17 when guided missiles and suicide drones launched from Lebanon struck a community center in the northern Israeli settlement of Arab al-Aramshe, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and medics said.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the targeted community center was being used by a reconnaissance unit of the IDF.
In a statement ,the Lebanese group said that the missile and drone attack was carried out in support of the Palestinian people and resistance in the Gaza Strip as well as in response to the killing of three of its fighters in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon a day earlier.
Videos posted to social networks showed missiles and drones hitting the community center Arab al-Aramshe with high precision. A nearby vehicle was also hit in the attack, according to Hebrew media.
Warning sirens did not sound during the attack. The IDF said that it was investigating why the alarms were not activated.
The casualties were taken to Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, which said that one was listed in critical condition and four others were seriously wounded. The hospital added that the remaining victims were moderately and slightly injured.
The IDF admitted that 14 of the casualties were soldiers, including the five listed in critical and serious condition. The four civilian victims were all slightly injured, per the military.
In an initial response to the attack, the IDF said it targeted the launch sites in southern Lebanon. Israeli fighter jets also struck buildings used by Hezbollah and sites where the group’s fighters were gathered, along with other infrastructure in the towns of Ayta al-Shaab, Naqoura and Yarine, the military added. There were no reports of casualties.
The clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli border first broke out after the start of the war in Gaza last October, with Hezbollah and its allies carrying out attacks in support of the Strip.
So far, the border clashes have resulted in eight civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of at least ten IDF soldiers and reservists. On the Lebanese side, more than 400 people have been killed, including 260 fighters of Hezbollah and at least 70 civilians.
In recent days, the clashes between Hezbollah and the IDF intensified. The attack on Arab al-Aramshe could mark the start of a more serious round of escalation.
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