Four Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah strike on Military base amid IDF bombing in Lebanon

Mangalore Today News Network

Israel, October 14, 2024: Four Israeli soldiers were killed by a Hezbollah drone strike Sunday on a military base south of Haifa, amid an escalating conflict with the Iran-backed group in Lebanon. “Yesterday, a UAV launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation hit an army base adjacent to Binyamina,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

“Four IDF (army) soldiers were killed in the incident and an additional seven were severely injured.” The Lebanese militant group, which is at war with Israel, earlier on Sunday said it had launched “a squadron of attack drones” at a military training camp in Binyamina, south of Haifa, in response to Israeli air strikes on the country.

Mirsad-1 Used in Binyamina

According to The Jerusalem Post, the drone that Hezbollah used for the strike near Binyamina is believed to be the Mirsad-1, a UAV that the Iran-backed group has deployed for over two decades. According to the Alma Research Center, the Mirsad-1 can carry up to 40 kilograms of explosives, has a top speed of 370 kilometers per hour, and boasts an operational range of 120 kilometers.

The Iran-backed group has used the drone for surveillance and offensive strikes since 2002, the report said. Hezbollah launched multiple drones, based on Iran’s Mohajer-2 model, under the cover of a rocket barrage, to overwhelm Israeli defense systems. The newspaper said that one drone managed to evade detection and crash in the Binyamina area, marking a notable breach in Israeli air defences.

‘Diplomatic pathway’

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Sunday to the Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Oct. 13 to express his condolences for the IDF soldiers killed in a drone attack. During the call, Austin also raised the issue of the safety of the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.

“I also reiterated the importance of ensuring the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces and reinforced the need to pivot from military operations in Lebanon to a diplomatic pathway as soon as feasible,” Austin said in a post on X. The incident comes two days after air raid sirens sounded in central Israel after two aerial drones entered the country from Lebanon. At least one building north of Tel Aviv was damaged during the incident.

Peacekeeping force in Lebanon

Hezbollah has been regularly firing rockets and drones into Israel for more than a year but has reached further since the fighting escalated in late September. Israel’s air defences, including the Iron Dome system, have intercepted most of the projectiles, with few casualties caused by strikes or falling debris.

On Sunday, the United Nations said Israeli tanks had burst through the gates of a base of its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, the latest accusation of Israeli violations and attacks denounced by its own allies. The UNIFIL peacekeeping force said two Israeli Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate of a base and forcibly entered before dawn on Sunday morning.

After the tanks left, shells exploded 100 metres away, releasing smoke which blew across the base and sickened UN personnel, it said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said militants of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah had fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops, wounding 25 of them.

UNIFIL statement:Early this morning, peacekeepers at a UN position in Ramyah observed three platoons of IDF soldiers crossing the Blue Line into Lebanon.

The attack was very close to a UNIFIL post and a tank helping evacuate the casualties under fire then backed into the UNIFIL post, it said. “It is not storming a base. It is not trying to enter a base. It was a tank under heavy fire, mass casualty event, backing up to get out of harm’s way,” the military’s international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

Hezbollah compounds

In a statement, the military said it used a smoke screen to provide cover for the evacuation of the wounded soldiers but its actions posed no danger to the U.N. peacekeeping force. In a lengthy statement posted on X, the Israeli foreign minister said that over the past month, some 25 rockets and missiles have been launched at the country from Hezbollah compounds embedded near UNIFIL posts in southern Lebanon.

“Hezbollah uses compounds located above and below ground to carry out terrorist attacks against the State of Israel. During the IDF’s limited, localized, targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence in southern Lebanon, the troops of the 146th Division located hundreds of weapons, including firearms, grenades, and rocket launchers aimed at Israeli territory,” the ministry said.

“UNIFIL in southern Lebanon was deployed to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and prevent the presence of Hezbollah armed operatives south of the Litani River. However, both the State of Lebanon and the international community have failed to implement Resolution 1701, despite repeated requests to do so,” it added.