An Israeli civilian was murdered by Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah on Sunday afternoon, the IDF announced. But Israel’s northernmost city, Kiryat Shmona also came under repeated rocket fire from the terrorist organization.
#عاجل واصل #حزب_الله اليوم مهاجمة مواقع عسكرية وبلدات مدنية اسرائيلية دون تمييز بين مدنيين وعسكريين. وقد أسفرت احدى الهجمات عن مقتل مواطن إسرائيلي.
حزب الله الارهابي يواصل زعزعة الاستقرار الأمني على الحدود الشمالية ويستهدف سكان الشمال دون تمييز ويخاطر بالاستقرار في جنوب لبنان
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 5, 2023
“Today, Hezbollah continued to attack Israeli military sites and civilian towns without distinguishing between civilians and military personnel,” IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a tweet on X. “One of the attacks resulted in the death of an Israeli citizen.
“The terrorist group Hezbollah continues to destabilize security on the northern border and targets the residents of the north indiscriminately, risking stability in southern Lebanon,” Adraee added in a warning.
In response, the IDF carried out a precision airstrike on a vehicle killing three terrorists in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed there were civilians among the dead.
Since the start of the conflict, Hezbollah has killed eight Israelis in the north, including two civilians.
In the early evening hours, Hezbollah fired a barrage of at least six rockets at Israel’s northernmost city, Kiryat Shmona, while several others were headed towards Metula and other towns.
Most of the missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome system, although one rocket landed on a vehicle in Kiryat Shmona, igniting a fire in the heart of a residential neighborhood and two other rockets landed elsewhere in the city.
No physical casualties were reported, according to Israel Police. Security personnel searched the city to rule out any other impacts.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the Grad rocket barrage, saying it came in response to the deaths of a “woman and three young children” in an IDF attack on a vehicle earlier in the day. No comment from the IDF.
Nearly two hours later, and then again and again, Hezbollah again fired rockets at Kiryat Shmona, in addition to major cities in central Israel such as Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Ramat Gan and Herzliya. No casualties were reported.
Earlier, a UAV was identified flying from deep inside Lebanon toward Israel. The drone was tracked by detection and control systems and intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array while still over Lebanon.
The military is “ready at any moment to go on the offense in the north,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a statement.
“We set a goal of restoring a significantly better security situation on the borders, not only in the Gaza Strip,” Halevi emphasized during a situation assessment at the 210th Division in northern Israel during the day.
“We are ready at any moment to go on the offense in the north; we understand that it can happen, and we trust you that the defense here is strong,” he told the troops.
