JNS: At least four soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) lost their lives, and 58 others sustained injuries following a drone strike by Hezbollah on a military base near Binyamina in north-central Israel on Sunday night.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it targeted a training base of the IDF’s Golani Brigade using a “swarm of drones.”
The IDF confirmed in a post on X, “Yesterday, a UAV launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization hit an army base. Four IDF soldiers were killed in the incident. The IDF shares in the grief of the bereaved families and will continue to support them. We ask that the names of the injured not be circulated, and families be respected.”
The drone strike occurred just before 7 p.m., reportedly hitting a dining hall within the base. Of the injured, seven soldiers were reported to be in serious condition, while another 14 had moderate injuries.
Following the attack, Chief of General Staff LTG Herzi Halevi expressed the difficulty of the situation, stating, “We are at war, and an attack on a training base on the home front is painful. You acted effectively to treat and evacuate the wounded. Embrace the bereaved families and support the commanders and soldiers.”
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari noted that the circumstances surrounding the attack are under investigation, particularly as the drone strike did not trigger any warning sirens in Israel.
“The IDF has full operational control over the incident,” he stated, urging the public to avoid spreading rumors while the facts are being verified. “We will investigate how a UAV managed to breach defenses without warning and hit a base,” he added, emphasizing the need for improved protective measures in light of ongoing threats posed by drones.
In related news, the Lebanese health ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of 51 individuals across Lebanon on the same day, with an additional 174 people injured. The casualties included 22 fatalities in the Mount Lebanon region and 10 in the southern Nabatieh region, with further casualties reported in a raid on the village of Maifadoun.
