UPDATES WITH DETAILS
By Anadolu staff
ISTANBUL (AA) - At least 17 people were injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel on Tuesday amid fears of a full-blown war between the two sides, according to Israeli media.
The Israeli army said several drones were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel with one drone intercepted and another falling in the city of Nahariya.
Israel’s Army Radio said 17 people were injured in the drone attack, including one seriously.
The Israeli army said that those injured in Nahariya was caused by an interceptor rocket that missed its target and hit a highway.
The drone attack has triggered rocket sirens to sound in several areas in northern Israel, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
Hezbollah confirmed that it launched a “swarm” of combat drones towards the army’s Golani Brigade headquarters in northern Israel and the Egoz Unit 621 at Shraga army base north of Acre.
Tension has escalated between Hezbollah and Israel since Tel Aviv assassinated senior military commander Fouad Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburb on July 30.
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was also assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran the following day. Iran and Hamas accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination, while Tel Aviv has not yet confirmed or denied its responsibility.
Fears have grown over a full-blown war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.
The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza which has killed over 39,600 people since last October following an attack by Hamas.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar