An attack drone launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon crashed into the yard of a preschool in the Haifa suburb of Nesher on Tuesday, while the children were inside. No one was hurt.
No sirens were activated in the area of the preschool although the drone was observed crossing the border from Lebanon and was being chased by the IDF as warning sirens sounded along its way. The military said it was investigating why the Nesher sirens were not heard.
A father of a 4.5-year-old girl attending the kindergarten praised the staff for its conduct after they rushed the kids into shelters on their own initiative and said their actions saved lives. "Whenever there are sirens nearby the staff takes the children into the shelter. The teacher sent a message to the parents' group telling us the kids were fine with pictures of them in the shelter, even before the drone hit."
Repeated attempts to shoot down the drone, failed in the 14 minutes of flight as it approached the area of Haifa.
Attack drone in the sky over northern Israel
Similar attacks have taken place in the recent days and the threat of drone strikes has become one of the more complex for aerial defenses. Drones are used by pro-Iran militias in Iraq and Syria and by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as Hezbollah.
According to the Air Force, some 1,300 attack drones were launched at Israel since the start of the war. 231 hit the ground. This means some 82% of the hostile UAVs have been successfully shot down.
The IDF has been trying to target the Hezbollah's secretive 127 Unit responsible for launching attack drones areas from where the drones, even after its commander was assassinated in the attack on the Dahieh last September. Only 10% of the unit's force has been killed thus far, the military said adding that the terror group still retains some 30% of its drone arsenal after most was destroyed in IDF attacks on warehouses and launchers.
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