Israeli soldiers killed in Hezbollah attack as airstrike kills ‘women and children’ at food center in Gaza

Four Israeli soldiers were killed and dozens injured in a Hezbollah drone strike on central Israel. This was the militant group’s deadliest attack since Israel invaded southern Lebanon two weeks ago.

Hezbollah’s drones injured 61 soldiers after hitting a base near Binyamina, a town about 20 miles south of Haifa, on Sunday, the Israeli military said.

Hezbollah claimed it targeted Israel’s elite Golani Brigade and fired dozens of rockets to distract Israeli air defense systems during the drone strike.

The attack came shortly after Washington announced it would provide Israel with a missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) and troops to help defend the Jewish state.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the Thaad system will help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iranian missile attacks on the country in April and October. The country already has an Iron Dome missile defense system.

“This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel and the defense of Americans in Israel from further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” said Maj. Gen. Ryder.

The mission marks the first significant deployment of US troops to Israel since the war in Gaza began on October 7 last year.

U.S. officials have encouraged Israel to avoid attacks on Iranian nuclear, oil and gas sites, fearing that it could trigger an even greater escalation that upends the global economy.

Meanwhile, at least 10 people were killed and 40 injured in northern Gaza on Monday after Israeli tank shells hit people waiting in line for food, Palestinian medics said.

Medics said an Israeli drone also opened fire where dozens of residents had gathered to receive food in Jabalia, one of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps. It was said that women and children were also among the victims.

Four people were killed and 40 injured in an Israeli airstrike on the central Gaza Strip on Monday morning, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Israel claimed it attacked a Hamas command center in a hospital compound in the Deir al-Balah region, where refugees were also seeking refuge.

Images and videos showed an inferno sweeping through tent tents as people rushed to put out the fires with buckets of water.

Separately, the Israeli military said it struck 200 Hezbollah-linked targets in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours.

Israel is currently at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – both Iranian-backed militant groups – and is expected to attack Iran in retaliation for a rocket attack earlier this month, although it has not said how and when.

A day after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel, leading to retaliatory attacks on Israel.

The conflict escalated dramatically in September when Israeli strikes killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders.

Earlier this month, Israel launched a ground operation.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since September, according to the country’s health ministry. It did not say how many were Hezbollah fighters. According to Israeli authorities, at least 54 people have been killed in rocket attacks on Israel, almost half of them soldiers.