More than 67 Israelis were wounded Sunday evening when an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah landed near Wadi Ara in the Menashe Regional Council district, close to the town of Binyamina.
15 נפצעו, חלקם במצב קשה, לאחר שמזל"ט התרסק ליד בנימינה pic.twitter.com/nSWNumQBCJ
— ?? mzironi (@mziron178084) October 13, 2024
United Hatzalah volunteer medical teams and those of Magen David Adom (MDA) responded to the scene and were providing first aid to the victims.
Terrible news from Israel where at least 30 have been injured — 5 critically, in a suicide drone attack by Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/83vWi1FfLZ
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) October 13, 2024
Four victims were critically wounded in the attack and were airlifted to Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Tel Aviv. Three victims in very serious condition were airlifted to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, according to a spokesperson for the hospital, who said one of the three was listed in critical condition; the other two sustained moderate injuries. In addition, 14 victims sustained moderate wounds and the others who had minor injuries were evacuated to nearby Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, Emek Medical Center in Afula and Laniado Medical Center in Netanya by MDA and IDF ambulances.
A spokesperson for Hillel Yaffe Medical Center told reporters that 36 casualties reached the emergency room with various degrees of injuries, including six in serious condition, 10 in moderate to serious condition and 20 others with minor injuries.
Six of the wounded were taken to Laniado Medical Center, including one person with moderate wounds and five with minor injuries, a hospital spokesperson said.
Four of the victims were taken to Emek Medical Center in Afula, including three who were immediately admitted, albeit in good condition, and a fourth victim who was still in the emergency room undergoing evaluation.
Three of the victims were taken to Beilinson Medical Center in Petach Tikva; one was listed in serious condition and the other two were still being evaluated, said a spokesperson for the hospital.
Two other victims were taken to Carmel Medical Center in Haifa; both were listed in good condition with minor injuries.
Security and medical personnel on scene declared a mass casualty event. The attack was carried out under cover of a rocket barrage launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 News, at around 7 pm two UAVs entered Israeli territory: one was successfully intercepted in area of the Haifa suburbs known as the Krayot, and did not cause damage or casualties. The other UAV continued south – and hit the Binyamin area. Attempts were made to intercept the drone, but it slipped down to low altitude and finally exploded, injuring some 67 people.
A senior Hezbollah official told Aljazeera, “Our operation in Binyamin was carried out using a swarm of suicide drones.”
The drone that targeted the Binyamina area allegedly fired a rocket before it exploded, according to a report by the Saudi news outlet Al Hadath.
According to initial reports, it seems that the UAV did not carry a large amount of explosives, but it hit a dense group of people, therefore leading to a large number of casualties, Channel 12 reported. Eyewitnesses said they saw the UAV flying at an extremely low altitude, and ‘skimming the roofs of houses’, which “explains, among other things, the difficulty in interception,” according to the report.
The IDF intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah at the community of Talmei Elazar at around 7 pm; the interception triggered the Red Alert incoming warning siren, Israeli media reported.
Another round of rocket fire was aimed at Haifa and its surrounding communities at around 8:15 pm. As with the attack on Binyamina, the Red Alert incoming warning siren did not activate. Four interceptions were seen over the Mediterranean Sea by residents in the Haifa area.
Residents of the ancient Galilee city of Tzfat (Safed) were warned at around the same time to stay near protected spaces.
Earlier in the evening, multiple Red Alert warning sirens were triggered due to infiltration of hostile aircraft (explosive drones) in the areas of Nahariya and Akko.
The IDF is investigating.
