Hezbollah launches drone attack on northern Israel IDF base

Hezbollah said it attacked an Israeli army base Tuesday, in response to recent strikes that killed top Hamas and Hezbollah officials.

The Iran-backed group said it used several drones to attack the northern command headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Safed, which is about 7 miles from the border, where there is frequent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The IDF confirmed a northern army base was targeted, but it did not say specifically where the base was located. There were no injuries or damage, the IDF said.

The IDF said the air defense system activated to intercept a “hostile aircraft,” The AP reported, and that a projectile struck the base.

On Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon also killed three members of Hezbollah, The Associated Press reported.

Fighting along the northern border has increased since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization that is backed by Iran and rules the Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials have called for Hezbollah to withdraw fighters from the border to let tens of thousands of Israelis return to their homes, The AP reported.

Hezbollah said the Tuesday attack was in direct retaliation to an Israeli drone strike on Monday, which killed Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tawil, the highest ranking official to be killed in the recent wave of fighting.

Thousands of people participated in his funeral, held in southern Lebanon Tuesday. The ceremony involved his coffin being carried through the streets, draped in the country’s flag, to be buried in the cemetery, The AP reported.

The Tuesday strike, Hezbollah said, also is retaliation for Israel’s strike in Beirut last week that killed top Hamas official Saleh Arouri and others.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.