World
American seriously wounded when Hezbollah fires 20-rocket barrage at Israel
A US citizen was seriously wounded when Hezbollah terrorists fired a 20-rocket barrage at northern Israel on Saturday, officials said.
Two of the terror group’s anti-tank missiles hit a military post near the Zar’it community, where the subsequent explosion injured the 31-year-old American and an Israeli civilian, along with an Israel Defense Force soldier, according to the Israeli military.
No further details were given out about the American. The injured Israelis only suffering minor wounds.
The three victims were transported to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya for treatment, the Times of Israel reported.
The IDF said it was investigating why the American and Israeli civilians were at the army post at the time of the attack.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the strike, which primarily targeted northern communities near Safed and Lower Galilee, the IDF said.
While several of the rockets were intercepted by the Israeli air defense, others got through.
The IDF said one such blast left a 28-year-old man in Kfar Zeitim with serious injuries, with a rescue team rushing to provide first aid and evacuate him to a hospital.
The rocket barrage also caused several fires to break out in northern Israel.
The Israeli Air Force said another Hezbollah barrage occurred hours later, with the IDF launching immediate retaliatory strikes that destroyed the terrorists’ firing site in Ayta ash Shab.
Saturday’s strike comes as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues to heat up, with the Iran-backed terror group launching more than 200 rockets against the Jewish state last week.
The massive missile barrage was in retaliation for an Israeli drone strike that killed Hezbollah senior commander Mohammad Naameh Nasser in southern Lebanon.
The intense skirmishes along the border have sparked fears that the war in Gaza could spread into Lebanon and threaten to throw the whole region in further chaos.
Israel’s top officials have repeatedly warned that the IDF is ready for the possibility of the two-front war, with Hezbollah officials continuing their attack in solidarity with the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza.
The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah have caused tens of thousands of people who lived along the Israel-Lebanon border to evacuate.
At least 16 IDF soldiers and 11 Israeli civilians have been killed since Hezbollah began its attacks on Israel on Oct. 8, according to Israeli officials.
In Lebanon, more than 450 people have been killed by IDF strikes, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah officials claim the death toll includes dozens of civilians.
With Post wires