IDF soldier seriously wounded in one of several Hezbollah drone attacks in northern Israel

IDF kills important Hamas weapons supplier in strike deep inside Lebanon

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A soldier of the Israel Defense Forces was seriously wounded in one of several drone attacks Hezbollah launched against Israel on Sunday, as tensions between the sides have reached a boiling point making an all-out war seem imminent.

The soldier sustained serious wounds caused by shrapnel when a Hezbollah suicide drone exploded near him in the area of Ayelet Hashahar, according to the IDF. The soldier was rushed to the hospital for treatment and his family was informed, the IDF stated.

The weekend saw no significant pause in Hezbollah’s incessant attacks against Israel, as two anti-tank missiles hit homes in the northern Israeli town of Metula on Saturday evening, causing damage and fires but no casualties.

The attacks continued early Sunday morning with a first drone attack, in which a suicide drone managed to penetrate defenses and exploded near the community of Beit Hillel in the Upper Galilee.

The IDF later announced that an interceptor missile targeted the drone but failed to intercept it, underscoring the difficulty Israel’s aerial defense has been experiencing against Hezbollah’s drone array.

Several hours later, another drone penetrated unusually deep into Israel, causing rocket alarms near the Arab city of Sakhnin, which is located in the Lower Galilee some 22 km (13,5 miles) from the Lebanese border.

הותר לפרסום: כטב״ם חיזבאללה יורט ככל הנראה בהצלחה במרחב מכון לשם, ששייך לחברת רפאל, באזור משגב
(אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/wxEHWtE5MR
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 23, 2024

The drone was intercepted in the adjacent Misgav Regional Council, near the site of a sensitive factory belonging to the Rafael Defense Contractor, which was the likely target of the strike.

In the early afternoon, four drones attacked IDF barracks in the area of Ayelet Hashahar. Footage filmed by soldiers who, contrary to orders, didn’t seek shelter in a bunker, showed one drone impact near them and another drone being intercepted in mid-air.

Footage circulating on social media shows a Hezbollah drone impacting in northern Israel, before a second drone is shot down by air defenses. pic.twitter.com/YPhz9o1CI6
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 23, 2024

The IDF confirmed that one drone was shot down and three others impacted, with the shrapnel of one of the explosions wounding one IDF soldier. The impacts caused wildfires, Army Radio reported.

The Israeli army on Saturday released footage of a strike deep in Lebanese territory that killed the terrorist Ayman Ghatma, reportedly a weapons supplier for Hamas and the Sunni terror group al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya in Lebanon.

צה"ל תקף באמצעות כלי טיס של חיל האוויר במרחב הבקעא, וחיסל בתקיפה ממוקדת את המחבל אימן ע'טמה, פעיל טרור מרכזי האחראי על אספקת אמצעי הלחימה עבור חמאס והג'מאעה האסלאמית בלבנון, ובקידום תשתיות טרור במרחב>> pic.twitter.com/Kr4E7jhP76
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 22, 2024

The IDF said an airstrike hit Ghatma’s vehicle near the town of Khiara in Lebanon’s Beqaa area, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the border. Ghatma was a target due to his active involvement in launching attacks against Israel over the past months, according to the Israeli military.

Later on Saturday, the IDF said it eliminated a terrorist who was identified at a Hezbollah observation post in the area of Ayta al-Sha’ab. Israeli forces eliminated another terrorist who entered a military structure in the town of Yaroun, and attacked a terror squad in the a-Tayba area, among other strikes.