Israel claims intercepting missiles, drones fired from Lebanon

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army claimed Saturday that it intercepted two drones and two missiles launched from Lebanon towards northern Israel.

In a statement on X, the military said the air force intercepted two unmanned aerial vehicles heading to the country from Lebanon.

No injuries were reported as the drones did not cross into Israel, it added.

The army earlier said it intercepted two long-range missiles fired towards the Karmiel area and Haifa Bay in the north of the country.

The distance between Haifa and the Lebanese border is about 55 kilometers (34 miles).

Since Saturday morning, Hezbollah said it has launched several rocket barrages towards the Galilee region in northern Israel.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against, what it claims, Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,411 people, injuring over 3,970 others, and displacing more than 1.34​​​​​​​ million people.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed nearly 42,200 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Mideast was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, it expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Rania abu Shamala