At least 50 rockets were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon at Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding area on Tuesday morning, in the latest barrage on the beleaguered northern Israel.
The majority of the rockets were intercepted and several fallen projectiles were identified in the area, according to the IDF. Damage was caused to buildings in the area.
Rocket explodes in front of car on the road
Israeli Fire and Rescue services were operating to extinguish fires caused by the strikes in the area.
About 50 missiles were detected firing towards Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding area, some of them were intercepted. In the documentation from the city, you can see rockets exploding in several locations one after the other.
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Putting our fires caused by rocket strikes in Kiryat Shmona
(Photo: Israel Fire and Rescue Brigade)
Minutes earlier, at about 9:30 a.m. rockets were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Some of the projectiles were intercepted and the rest fell in open areas. Fallen fragments from the interceptions were identified in the area.
The Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya reported that, since the morning hours on Tuesday, nine lightly injured people were brought in, following the rocket barrages that were launched into the Western Galilee. Two young women ages 19 and 20 and two women ages 37 and 43 were injured in two car accidents during an alarm, one near Yarka and the other in Nahariya. In addition, a 62-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife, sustained head injuries when a rocket fell near their car. Three others, ages 69, 54, and 38, were injured while running to protected areas.
Rockets fall in Kiryat Shmona
(Videos: Eyal Biton, Sarit Feller)
Shrapnel from Hezbollah rockets
Dozens of fragments of interceptors fell during the night throughout the Galilee, one of them, weighing more than 60 kilograms, fell near the city hall of Nof HaGalil, a town overlooking the city of Nazareth and the Jezreel Valley. After it was inspected, the fragments were transferred to Mayior Ronen Plot's office. "We had a difficult night with a lot of luck," he said.
The barrage of rockets toward Kiryat Shmona scored a direct hit on a warehouse of the municipality. There were many reports to police of interceptor and rocket fragments falling in the Kiryat Shmona area and around Afula. Meanwhile, five firefighting teams are working at several areas in Kiryat Shmona following the latest barrage from Lebanon.
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Rocket fragments in Nof HaGalil Mayior Ronen Plot's office
(Photo: Nof HaGalil municipality)
While the rocket attacks continue, mayors and municipal councils across the north are outraged by the lack of protection in the area. The mayor of Safed, Yossi Kakon, told Ynet that: "We have been living this for a year. The residents have hope that the problem may finally be taken care of. Half of our residents are not protected. There is great frustration and great fear." Hatzor Haglilit Regional Council Head Michael Kabsa added: "Intercept fragments hit several vehicles yesterday, this is our awful routine. We have no protection - this is a decades-old omission."
Ido Greenblum, head of the Kiryat Tivon local council, said: "We canceled the education systems and I don't know for how long, it's not something that will last just a day or two."
Early Tuesday morning, the Homefront Command said schools must remain shut in the Carmel Mountain Ridge and the Jezreel Valley extending the range of only distance learning south of the Haifa-Tiberias line.
Overnight some 20 rockets and missiles targeted the Lower Galilee where at least four people were reported to have suffered light injuries. Shrapnel fell in Nazareth and the surrounding areas. At least five people were hurt when they ran to seek shelter.
Israel on Monday announced a nationwide state of emergency in anticipation of the Hezbollah fire spreading further south toward the center of the country after Haifa and its surrounding areas including the Carmel mountain ridge came under attack.
A million Israelis were forced to seek shelter during the Hezbollah attacks on Monday after the Iran-backed terror group expanded its fire further into Israel.