Two drones carrying explosives fly over Beit Hillel in the Galilee
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Two Hezbollah drones carrying explosives that infiltrated from Lebanon detonated at noon on Tuesday in the Beit Hillel area of the Galilee, slightly injuring three Israelis. The drones penetrated without triggering warning sirens in the area, and the IDF said that the incident is under investigation. The IDF later confirmed that an Israeli Air Force aircraft struck and eliminated Ismail Yusaf Baz, the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector, in the area of Ain Ebel in Lebanon.
Watch the IDF video of the strike that killed Baz:
The elimination of Ismail Yusaf Baz
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
One of the UAV explosions also caused a fire in the Upper Galilee; the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority announced that three teams of firefighters had gained control of the flames that broke out in several locations there.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching the UAVs at 2:25 p.m. According to the Shia terrorist organization, it allegedly "hit" an Iron Dome battery, but this claim is unverified.
At 3:27 p.m., about half an hour after the IDF announced the intrusion of the drones, alarms warning of missile and rocket fire were activated in several communities in the Western Galilee, including Shlomi. Five rocket launches from Lebanon to Israel were detected. Rocket alert sirens were heard in and around Beit Hillel about an hour later as well.
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Hezbollah drone flying over Beit Hillel; wreckage of vehicle carrying senior Hezbollah field commander
After the infiltration of the UAVs, the IDF attacked Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that a UAV attacked a vehicle near Tyre in Lebanon, and that its driver was killed. Two others who were injured in the attack, according to the report, were not in the vehicle but in a nearby store that was also damaged.
The Saudi channel Al-Hadth also reported on the attack on the vehicle near Tyre, in the town of Ain Baal. Sources quoted in the channel's report claimed that the man killed in the strike was a Hezbollah field commander. "He is considered a key factor in the military formation at the front," according to the report. At the same time, Hezbollah's Al-Manar channel reported on artillery attacks in Khiam in southern Lebanon.
The IDF confirmed later on Tuesday evening that an Israeli Air Force aircraft struck and eliminated Ismail Yusaf Baz, the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector, in the area of Ain Ebel in Lebanon. Ismail served as a senior and veteran official in several positions of Hezbollah's military wing. His current rank is equivalent to a Brigade Commander, according to the IDF. As part of his position, Ismail was involved in the promotion and planning of rocket and anti-tank missile launches toward Israel from the coastal area of Lebanon. In addition, during the war, he organized and planned a number of terror attacks against Israel.
Several Hezbollah drones have infiltrated from Lebanon in recent days. On Saturday, two explosive drones infiltrated, and the impact of one of them led to the serious injury of a 30-year-old reservist , a member of the standby squad at Kibbutz Hanita in the Western Galilee. On Friday evening, two Hezbollah drones carrying explosives penetrated the border but were then intercepted by the IDF.
Ruins of vehicle carrying senior Hezbollah field commander after Israeli strike near Tyre, Lebanon
On Monday, in another serious incident on the northern border, four IDF soldiers from Golani and Yahalom were injured in the western border area inside Lebanese territory from an explosion suspected to have been caused by a bomb placed by Hezbollah forces, or from an old mine. The condition of one of the injured soldiers
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the incident, and announced that it planted the explosive device at the scene. The explosion occurred dozens of yards inside Lebanese territory, during a search of the fence area by the Golani patrol force, together with the Yahalom and Oketz units, in order to secure and improve the security elements in the area. According to a preliminary investigation, there was no ambush prepared at the place, and it is doubtful whether Hezbollah officials were aware that the forces had arrived in the area.
First published: 17:11, 04.16.24