Bushfire breaks out near Ayelet Hashahar following Hezbollah attack
(Video: Shahar Paz)
Sirens warning of an incoming hostile aircraft were activated in several communities across northern Israel Monday evening, marking Hezbollah's first attack on Israeli territory since launching over 300 projectiles Sunday morning as part of the terrorist group's retaliation for the assassination of its top general.
Warning alerts were issued for Amuka, Hulata, Ayelet Hashahar, Sde Eliezer, Yesod Hama'ala, Mishmar Hayarden, Gadot, Kibbutz Yiftah and the Mevo’ot Hermon Regional Center in the Upper Galilee.
Additional sirens were sounded in Hanita, Shlomi, Ya’ara, Neve Ziv and Avdon, alerting residents to potential aerial threats. Simultaneously, rocket and missile alerts were triggered in Betzet, Rosh Hanikra, and Liman. Later, further warnings of hostile aircraft infiltration were issued in Matzuba, Goren, Gornot Hagalil, Adamit, Arab al-Aramshe, Liman, Ya’ara, the Achziv-Miluot Industrial Zone, Rosh Hanikra, Eilon and Betzet.
The Upper Galilee Regional Council reported that three rocket crash sites were identified near Ayelet Hashahar in the Hula Valley; no injuries or damage were reported. A fire broke out in the Ayelet Hashahar area following the rocket strikes. In response to the sirens, several interceptors were launched at targets in the Galilee.
The Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al Akhbar reported that artillery fire was directed at Al-Naqoura in southern Lebanon, north of Rosh Hanikra, shortly after the rockets were fired at the western Galilee. Earlier, Al Akhbar also reported attacks in Aalman, Arnoun, Al Qusayr and between Khardali and Deir Mimas in various sectors of southern Lebanon.
IDF strike in Arnoun, southern Lebanon
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office issued a clarification regarding the government's decision Sunday to extend the evacuation of residents from northern and southern Israel. The extension of living allowances and hotel stays was approved until September 30—not December 31, as previously stated. The statement added that another government decision secured funding to extend the evacuations until the end of 2024, if necessary, pending additional legislation in the Knesset.
Earlier, the Prime Minister's Office had announced that residents evacuated from their homes in the north and south, who cannot return due to security concerns, would be allowed to extend their hotel stays, subject to security recommendations, until December 31, 2024.