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.
GettyFour Israeli soldiers have been killed in a Hezbollah drone strike on an Israeli base[/caption]
GettyImages from the scene show a line of ambulances arriving to evacuate the injured[/caption]
ReutersIsraeli soldiers evacuating the base after the drone strike near Binyamina[/caption]
ReutersIsraeli soldiers at at Sheba Medical Centre in Ramat Gan, Israel after the drone attack[/caption]
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”.
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