Pro-Iran groups have been launching drone attacks on Israel since last October [GETTY/file photo]
Drones launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon reportedly reached Tel Aviv, while others reportedly launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq landed in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday and Saturday, as tensions remain high across the region ahead of an anticipated Israeli military attack on Iran.
Israel said on Saturday that “40 projectiles” had been fired by Hezbollah into Israel with warning sirens sounding across northern Israel and the areas of Haifa Bay. It said some of the projectiles were intercepted and others had “fallen”.
The Iran-backed group said it launched attacks on military bases in northern Israel and along the border where its fighters have been engaged in ground clashes with Israeli troops for nearly three weeks.
Drones were reportedly sighted in the skies around Tel Aviv on Friday night after Israel’s air defence system failed to intercept some of the projectiles.
The Israeli army said it was launching a review into the incident after two drones were able to enter its airspace with one projectile suspected of causing damage to a building in Herzliya north of Tel Aviv.
Hebrew media reported that the impact had caused a power outage in the area. It was not immediately clear if the damage to the building was caused by the drone or shrapnel from a missile interceptor.
Hezbollah said on Friday it launched “an air attack with a swarm of explosives-laden drones on an air defence base” in Haifa.
The hit in Herzilya was followed by two separate drone attacks claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq group, which targeted the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday.
The Iran-aligned umbrella group said in a statement on Telegram that it had launched a projectile at a “vital target” for the second time early on Saturday. The group said its attack comes in support of Palestinians and Lebanese amid an ongoing assault by Israeli forces in Gaza and Lebanon.
The group has claimed previous attacks on Israel and vowed to continue launching attacks against Israeli and US assets in the region.
Tel Aviv was directly hit by a drone attack by the Yemeni Houthi group last July, which killed one person and wounded four others, a strike which took Israel by surprise.
Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ defence system has recently failed to intercept the dozens of projectiles being launched towards Israel on a daily basis since it decided to upscale its attacks on Lebanon in late September.
Hezbollah’s short-range rockets and drones have managed to evade the air defence system which operates across Israeli territory by detecting incoming missiles. Three people were killed in Israeli border towns this week by rockets launched from Lebanon.
