"We heard the whistle of the drone, suddenly there was an explosion." Residents of Nahariya and the surrounding area of the Western Galilee reacted with shock to the Hezbollah drone attack south of Nahariya, which critically injured a 30-year-old man and injure 17 others. An eyewitnesses said at noon on Tuesday that "all the communities in the north are suffering", and called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to find a way to halt the attacks, including invading Lebanon.
At least two unmanned aerial vehicles penetrated Israeli territory, following a series of alarms that were triggered in communities in the Western Galilee, including Nahariya and Acre. One of the unmanned aerial vehicles was intercepted, and the other exploded at an intersection near the town of Mazra’a.
The Hezbollah drone over Nahariya
(Yair Kraus)
The injured were evacuated to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya with shrapnel injuries, as well as those who suffered from anxiety and head injuries. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, and said that it had launched a "swarm of drones" in response to an Israeli strike south Lebanon town of Mayfadoun near Nabatieh, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Lebanon's border with Israel, reportedly killing at least five men.
Hours later, sirens sounded in the areas of Sha'al and Kela Alon and the IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanese territory. No injuries were reported. The siren was activated as a result of the launch of the interceptor toward the target and due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception. Israel Fire Services are currently operating to extinguish fires that were ignited in several areas by fallen shrapnel from the interception.
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The injured were evacuated to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, most with shrapnel injuries
(Photo: Yair Kraus)
Avi Ezran from Nahariya told Ynet that he was at the intersection when the drone exploded. "I approached the traffic lights and saw people on the ground. I stopped the car and suddenly I hear an alarm and see a UAV in front of me, at a height of six or seven meters. It started swinging and after that we heard a boom, from an intercepted or a fall.
Did you realize that you were under attack by Hezbollah?
"I thought it had started but I didn't understand what happened here, and the alarms don't stop."
Ten months into the war, what are your feelings?
"This is what I have to say to the government. Right now you are a failed government. I am nervous. My children are suffering, all of Nahariya, all of the north, all of the communities in the north are suffering. We must solve this problem. Please. Bibi will solve this problem for us. All our businesses are closed, we have nothing to in town, what to do? Tell us, Bibi, what to do?"
What is your requirement?
"We demand that we enter Lebanon. I am a 49-year-old human being, an engineer, now volunteering for the reserves. Take me now, I am ready to enter Lebanon. Nasrallah only understands force. The people know that. Who can get up in the morning when you don't know if you are coming back? What is that? "Every day, 12 of our children are killed." (The massacre in Majdal Shams).
Maor Amsalem , a resident of Krayot, happened to be driving at the time of the explosion. "There was alarm after alarm. On the third we already got it, and of course we listened to the instructions."
Did you see the UAV?
"Really, a meter above me. We heard a whistle and then there was an explosion. All the parts flew, glass, stones, everything just flew in all directions and luckily we were standing across the road and survived. I personally came out with a miracle."
How do you feel now? Did you think that would be the case after ten months?
"I am shaking. I never imagined it would come to me. I said it would be fine, I'm at home with two children. If you don't listen to the instructions and stay in the car, that's not what you should do."
A eyewitness to the explosion told Ynet that he saw a woman who was hit and was evacuated from the scene. "She was injured in her leg and was in shock." When asked about his feelings about the fact that the war had also reached Mazra’a, a place relatively far from the border, he replied that "the feelings are not good. Me and my daughters, they are all screaming. I have a daughter, five years old, she screams all day. The situation is difficult, the situation is not good."
Nassim Nas , a resident of Mazra’a, shared that after 10 months of war "we have to end it, 10 months is too much". When asked how he thinks the problem can be solved, he replied: "I don't know how to do it. We little people don't know how to do it. Let's hope it will be all right."
Coral , who was slightly injured and arrived at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, said: "I was driving on the road with my child (three months old) and the drone fell right next to us. My rear window was shattered by a shard and we pulled over. Thank God we are fine. I arrived from the direction of Krayot and did not hear the siren. It was a great miracle."
The IDF announced later on Wednesday that "an initial inquiry indicates that an interceptor missed the target and hit the ground, injuring several civilians. The incident is under review."
Hezbollah said it aimed its fire at a military base near Acre after an Israeli strike Monday on the South Lebanon town of Mayfadoun near Nabatieh, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Lebanon's border with Israel, reportedly killing at least five men. According to a report in the Saudi Al-Hadath channel, a senior member of the Iran-backed group was among the dead.
Mazra’a does not have enough shelters: 'We have no safe places'
Against the backdrop of the Hezbollah attack, the residents of Mazra’a harshly criticized the lack of shelters to protect against the missiles and drones launched from southern Lebanon. "The residents of the village live in great danger, while Nahariya, which is a minute away, enjoys shelters that are sufficient for all residents," they noted.
"The village has a shelter at the school and another one at the community center, but this is only enough for a very small number of people," Mohammad Awad, a resident of Mazra’a, said. "We are facing a danger that threatens our lives and we have no safe places to protect us from the missiles. Today the explosions were very close to us, if it had happened in a residential neighborhood we would have seen victims, injuries and very significant damage."
Another young man said that "our village is a minute away from Nahariya, and there are shelters to protect everyone, just because it's a Jewish city, while we Arabs don't seem to deserve these services." According to him, "the responsible authorities must provide shelters and raise this issue not only in times of war, but also in calm days without any wars."