Explosives-laden drone strikes Druze village of Hurfeish in the Upper Galilee
At least 9 people were injured Wednesday evening when an explosives-laden drone exploded after hitting a soccer field in the Druze village of Hurfeish in the Upper Galilee. Teams paramedics from Magen David Adom and rescue helicopters were rushed to the scene.
No alarm was triggered in the area by the unidentified aerial vehicle that crossed into Israel from Lebanon. Three of the injured people were taken to Ziv Hospital in Safed, others were evacuated to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Some of the injured were in serious condition.
The attack included at least two explosive drones, with the second set to go off after rescue workers arrived at the scene.
The IDF spokesman said that: "A short while ago, a number of launches that were identified from Lebanon fell in the area of Hurfeish in northern Israel. No sirens were sounded, the incident is under review."
Waleed Gadban, Hurfeish council chief of staff, said in a message to residents: "There were two falls within a span of about eight minutes. There are injured in various conditions, some of them were taken to the hospital." He called on residents not to come to the scene of the attack. "There are many curious people who have come and it is serious. Please stay in protected spaces," he also said.
Mahmoud Shanan, a resident of the village said: "The atmosphere now is very difficult, one of fear and anxiety. The impact was direct, no alarm was activated before. There was a very loud 'boom'. This is an incident with many casualties and right now the atmosphere is very frightening, the children are crying and the parents are shocked and don't know what to do."
"Since it happened, we have entered the protected areas," said Kamala Fares, also a resident of Hurfeish. "We still hear explosions and aircraft movements. We are abandoned to our fate here."
Villages in northern Israel have suffered unprecedented damage in the last week. About 800 dunams out of about 20,000 in the Biriya forest caught fire, following Hezbollah rocket fire into the area. This is an area that was also damaged in the Second Lebanon War, and underwent rehabilitation. KKL-JNF workers and foresters used a drone on Wednesday to document the heavy damage at the site.