It appears Hezbollah has made its decision vis a vis whether or not to enter the war between Israel and Hamas: multiple coordinated rocket barrages from across Israel’s northern and southern borders clarified that a second front indeed appears to have been opened in the north.
Initial reports indicated that at least one rocket landed in the haredi city of Elad, and in the community of Zafiria, near the airport. Direct hits were reported at a home in Rishon Lezion (no casualties), in the Shefela area (lowlands) east of Tel Aviv, and on multiple vehicles and shops in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona, igniting large building and vehicle fires.
#BREAKING: Large fire and damages caused by a #Hezbollah rocket that impacted in Kiryat Shmona, a town in North of #Israel. The #IsraeliAirForce is now retaliating by means of bombing the terrorists in #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/5D6AnT5zaJ
— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) November 2, 2023
Magen David Adom emergency medical responders said they treated and evacuated two injured Israelis in Kiryat Shmonah to Ziv Hospital. The two victims included 25-year-old man with moderate shrapnel wounds and a 40-year-old man who had mild injuries as a result of the blast.
In Rishon Lezion, the residents of the damaged home were in their bomb shelter, and were not physically injured.
“When we arrived on scene, there was a great deal of devastation in the house and yard,” said MDA EMT Raziel Yosopovich. “The two residents, both in their 70s, followed the Home Front Command instructions and entered a safe room for 10 minutes. They were uninjured and did not require medical treatment. If they hadn’t have entered the safe room, this could have ended in tragedy.”
Red Alerts Activate Simultaneously in North and South
Residents living in Tzfat, Meron, Manara, Margaliot, Kiryat Shmona and elsewhere in the north raced for cover late Thursday afternoon as the Red Alert incoming rocket siren blared through their communities in what appeared to be an attack coordinated between Lebanon and Gaza.
Israelis living in Be’er Sheva, Or Yehuda, Rishon Lezion, Kfar Chabad, Elad and elsewhere in central Israel likewise were forced to seek their bomb shelters as Red Alert sirens wailed through their communities as well.
Barely 20 minutes later, an infiltration alert siren activated in the northern communities of Yiftah, Manara, Mein Baruch, Meshgav Am, Yaraon, Baram, Kfar Giladi, Dafna, Malkiah, Dan, Gosherim, Shenir, Sasa, Tsibon and Margaliot, where residents were ordered back into their protected spaces “until further notice.”
An infiltration alert was also activated in Metulah, along Israel’s Lebanese border.
Residents of Kiryat Shmona were asked to remain in their bomb shelters and protected areas “until further notice” due to concerns about rocket fire.
“Over the last hour, a number of launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory were identified.
In response, the IDF is currently striking a series of Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement.
According to multiple reports, some of the rockets were launched from Syrian territory. Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, also claimed responsibility for bombing an Israeli outpost in the area of Mount Dov, “using two attack drones.”
A Third Front?
At the same time, aerial defenses were activated in the Red Sea, near Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat, where a loud explosion was heard, possibly from interception of a missile fired by Yemen’s Iranian proxy, the Houthis.
Red Alert rocket sirens again blared in central Israeli communities, as well as at Ben Gurion International Airport.
This is a developing story.
