Lebanon’s Hezbollah claims drone attack on northern Israel

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it launched explosive drones at northern Israel on Tuesday, after the Israeli army reported two armed drones blew up after entering from Lebanon.

Hezbollah fighters launched an “air attack with suicide drones in two phases… striking the Iron Dome (air defence system) platforms and their crew”, the group said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military – in a statement – said; “A short time ago, two explosive drones crossed the territory of Lebanon towards the territory of Israel and exploded in the area of Beit Hillel. The incident is under investigation.”

The attack came days after Iran launched the attack over an Israeli strike on its consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran’s regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.

However, the attack from more than 300 missiles and drones, mostly launched from inside Iran, caused only modest damage in Israel as most were shot down with the help of the US, Britain and Jordan.

An Air Force base in southern Israel was hit, but continued to operate as normal and a 7-year old child was seriously hurt by shrapnel. There were no other reports of serious damage.

Two senior Israeli ministers signalled on Sunday that retaliation by Israel is not imminent and it would not act alone.

“We will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us,” centrist minister Benny Gantz said ahead of a war cabinet meeting.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also said Israel had an opportunity to form a strategic alliance against “against this grave threat by Iran which is threatening to mount nuclear explosives on these missiles, which could be an extremely grave threat,” he said. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Iranian army chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri warned on television that “our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran” and told Washington its bases could also be attacked if it helped Israel retaliate.

Israel’s operation in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, which by its tallies killed 1,200 with 253 taken hostage.

The subsequent bombardment has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, with tens of thousands more wounded, and many feared still trapped under the rubble. The majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and aid agencies have warned famine is imminent.