Hezbollah rocket kills Israeli couple in Golan Heights after IDF strikes high-ranking terrorist in Syria

An Israeli couple was killed when a Hezbollah rocket struck their car while traveling on the Golan Heights on Tuesday, according to Israel Police and rescue services.

Nir and Noa Baranes, from Kibbutz Ortal, were driving on Highway 91, when Hezbollah launched a barrage of some 40 rockets, claiming to have targeted a nearby base of the IDF’s Golan Division in retaliation for an earlier IDF strike that killed a senior terror operative in Syria.

The couple left behind three children, ages 13, 16 and 18.

Israeli Security forces try to extinguish a fire near the scene of where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit a car and critically injured two people near Nafah Junction, in the Golan Heights, July 9, 2024 (Photo: Michael Giladi/Flash90).

Noa and Nir Baranes (Photo: Golan Regional Council)

Earlier on Tuesday, Hezbollah released a spy drone video showing detailed footage of several IDF bases in the Golan Heights, including the Golan Division's headquarters.

The terror group later confirmed reports of the death of Yasser Nimr Karnabash, who was targeted in an Israeli airstrike while driving on Syria’s Highway 1 connecting the capital Damascus with the border crossing to Lebanon.

Yasir Nimr Karnabash (also known as "Haj Abu Al-Fedal" and "Amin"), born in 1970 from the village of Zoter Al-Sharqiya in southern Lebanon, was killed today in his vehicle apparently by an airstrike while driving on road 1, west of Damascus - between Saboura and Yafour. This is… pic.twitter.com/gTOJTAR1aV
— Israel-Alma (@IsraelAlmaorg) July 9, 2024

According to the Alma Research Center, Karnabash was a confidante and former bodyguard to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and served in a senior role in Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 which is responsible for weapons transfers.

One other Hezbollah operative was killed and the Syrian driver critically wounded, according to Arabic media reports.

Throughout Tuesday, the Lebanese terror group continued its attacks against Israel, launching two drones that were intercepted by the IDF before shooting several rockets at Misgav Am.

מוקדם יותר היום זוהו מספר שיגורים משטח רב א-תלתין שבלבנון למרחב משגב עם, לוחמי ההגנה האווירית יירטו בהצלחה את מרבית השיגורים>> pic.twitter.com/N2GqLiviiI
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 9, 2024

The IDF later reported that most of the rockets were intercepted, and two terrorists who were involved in the launches were struck shortly after in the town of Rab al-Thalathine.

Later on Tuesday, the IDF struck several Hezbollah targets in Kafr Kila, before striking the launch site of the 40-rocket salvo at the Golan in Qabrikha.

במהלך הלילה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו שתי תשתיות טרור של מערך ההגנה האווירית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים ג'נתא שבעומק לבנון וברעשית שבדרום לבנון.

כמו כן, מטוסי קרב תקפו מחסן אמצעי לחימה של הארגון במרחב הכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/6Y2mxJGUGl
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 10, 2024

During the night, the IDF retaliated for the killing of the civilian couple by striking two infrastructures of Hezbollah’s aerial defense array, one being located some 70 km (43 miles) deep inside Lebanon in the area of Janta, and the other in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah’s near-daily attacks since last October have now killed 12 Israeli civilians and 16 IDF soldiers and reservists.

The death of the Israeli couple on Tuesday caused outrage among the local population, with many feeling neglected by the government.

Magen David Adom paramedics Aviv Atari and Tarek Hayev were the first on the scene and told Israeli media: “We saw a vehicle that had suffered a direct hit, and in its front part there was an unconscious man and woman who were critically wounded.”

“During the medical treatment, more alarms sounded and we ran to protect ourselves and handled the incident under the alarms. Army forces helped us on the spot. This is a very difficult incident,” they said.

The Forum of Evacuated Families put out an angry statement, stating: “The red line has been crossed. No one in the leadership cares.”

“If we don’t go to war in the north now, it will be an indelible crime by the right-wing government and the leadership. There is an opportunity here for a real victory that should not be missed - not localized attacks that do not give an ounce of deterrence. Soon you will see us on the streets, you didn’t leave us a home anyway.”

Security and rescue forces near the scene of where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit a car and critically injured two people near Nafah Junction, in the Golan Heights, July 9, 2024 (Photo: Ayal Margolin/Flash90).

“We have been evicted for over nine months, and right now it seems in vain. Thousands of displaced people, dozens of dead, and no clear destination for the war. This thing has to stop. War, now,” the forum stated.

The mayor of the nearby city of Katzrin, Yehuda Dua, lamented that “this is our reality, this is the routine of our lives and this is the Israeli government which, unfortunately, is acting helplessly against the cruel enemy.”

“There are no two options for deciding the war on terror, only one option. And the option is force and a lot of force,” Dua told Ynet News.

“The state should choose whether the security zone of the State of Israel is northern Israel or southern Lebanon. At the moment, the first option seems to be the choice, and this is a reality that we will not accept at any point.”

“We are in a great hour for the State of Israel, a time when there is great resilience for the residents and citizens, a time when there is a great test for the decision-makers. The result of this test should be only this – to return Lebanon to the Stone Age, and bring Hezbollah to its knees. State of Israel - wake up. Now.”