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An Israeli woman was killed and eight other people were wounded on February 14 when a salvo of rockets launched from Lebanon hit the northern Israeli city of Safed and a nearby base of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
There was no immediate claim for the attack, although it was believed to have been carried out by Hezbollah, which has been launching daily attacks against the IDF from its heartland in southern Lebanon in response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The IDF acknowledged that some of the rockets hit the Northern Command headquarters base in Safed, which is located some 13 kilometers from the border with Lebanon.
“Numerous launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into the areas of Netua, Menara, and into an IDF base in northern Israel,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that it was striking the launch sites.
Meanwhile, Safed’s municipality said that rockets hit the IDF base, as well as the city’s industrial zone and an area near Ziv Hospital.
The director general of Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service, Eli Bin, told the Kan public broadcaster a woman was killed in the rocket attack on Safad. Later reports said that the woman was a service member of the IDF. However, this is yet to be confirmed.
Ziv Hospital said that eight injured people were brought to the emergency room after the attack, including one person listed in serious condition. The hospital added another person was in moderate condition, and six others were being treated for light injuries.
After the attack, the Israeli Ynet news site reported that the IDF was preparing a “significant response,” which it describes as meaning more than just attacking the source of fire. An uncalculated response by Israel could easily spark an all-out war with Hezbollah.
So far, the skirmishes with Hezbollah have resulted in six civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of at least nine IDF soldiers and reservists. On the Lebanese side, more than 300 people have been killed, including 182 fighters of Hezbollah.
