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FOUR Israeli soldiers have been killed after a Hezbollah drone strike on an army base.
Sergeant Omri Tamari, Sergeant Yosef Hieb, Sergeant Yoav Agmon and Sergeant Alon Amitay, all 19, died in the attack near Binyamina in central Israel.
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Hezbollah said it had targeted a base belonging to the IDF’s Golani Brigade with a “swarm of drones”.
It is the deadliest strike by the terror group since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon nearly two weeks ago.
Israel’s military said 61 were wounded – with seven severely injured.
The drone strike hit shortly before 7pm on Sunday, hitting a packed dining hall inside the base, according to local reports.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “The IDF has full operational control over the incident.
“We will investigate how a UAV can breach without warning and hit a base.
“We are required to provide better protection. We will investigate this incident, learn from it and improve.”
Hezbollah said the attack was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut last Thursday that left 22 people dead.
A man who was injured in the strike told The Jerusalem Post “there was no way to escape”.
He said: “There was an explosion with no siren beforehand.
“Then there were three warnings to prepare for impact. It fell on us out of nowhere. There was no way to escape.
“A lot of people were hurt. I can’t describe in words what happened because it’s tragic.”
According to the Times of Israel, Hezbollah launched two “Misrad” drones into Israeli airspace from the sea.
The Alma Center, an Israeli research institute, said the drone has a 120-kilometre assault range and a top speed of 370 kilometres per hour.
It has the capacity to carry up to 40 kilograms of explosives, and the ability to fly up to 3,000 metres, the institute says.
One of the drones was reportedly shot down off the coast, north of Haifa.
After Sunday night’s strike, Hezbollah threatened more attacks.
It vowed the attack “in southern Haifa is nothing compared to what awaits it if it decides to continue its aggression against our… people”.
It claimed the strike was a “complex” operation – and said the drone “exploded in the room where dozens of officers and soldiers of the Israeli enemy were present”.
With Israel’s top air-defence systems, it is rare for so many people to be injured by drones or missiles.
Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily since the war in Gaza began – and fighting has escalated in recent weeks.
Israel launched its ground operation in Lebanon earlier this month with the goal of weakening Hezbollah and pushing the terror group away from the border to allow displaced Israelis to return.
Hezbollah’s deadly strike on the Israeli base came the same day the US said it would send a new air defences to help bolster protection against missiles.
Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – both Iran-backed militant groups – and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month.
Iran has vowed to respond to any Israeli attack.
