Three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded in a cross-border UAV attack from Lebanon on Thursday.
One soldier was seriously wounded and two others suffered light injuries when the drone attacked near the northern city of Metula.
The troops were evacuated to the hospital and their families were informed, the IDF said, adding that it was probing the incident.
The Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon took responsibility for the attack on Metula, claiming in a statement it launched two drones armed with missiles.
The alleged missile attack was said to have marked the first Arab airstrike on Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur War war and the first ever from Lebanon, Hezbollah propaganda outlets boasted.
An IDF spokesperson told JNS that it does not comment on claims by terrorist organizations.
On Wednesday night, a Hezbollah drone hit the Israeli military’s “Tal Shamayim” (“Sky Dew”) reconnaissance balloon in the Lower Galilee.
The Israeli Air Force was working to repair the aircraft, which is used to detect aerial threats from Lebanon. The military was still working to determine whether the balloon’s sensors were damaged.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, which consisted of two drones, one of which was downed by Israeli air defenses.
BREAKING:
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 16, 2024
The IDF has confirmed that a Hezbollah's drone targeted the location of Israel's new observation balloon, known as the Tal Shamim system.
Confirming Hezbollah's claim of responsibility from yesterday, the IDF reports that the site, which houses an advanced radar as… pic.twitter.com/AzIJDMwDiL
In response, the IAF carried out strikes overnight in the Baalbek area of northeastern Lebanon, which targeted a Hezbollah manufacturing plant for guided munitions and drones.
It was the third attempt by the Iranian terror proxy to target the sensitive military site. During the first attempt, the drones were not intercepted and struck near Poria. In the second try, the drones crashed near Yavne’el.
The Tal Shamayim system was activated after Hezbollah’s attack on the air control unit at Mount Meron that left it partially disabled in January.
Hezbollah fired a 60-rocket barrage at the Upper Galilee earlier on Wednesday, mostly targeting the Mount Meron base. The terror group said that both attacks on Wednesday were in retaliation for an IAF strike that killed a senior field commander in Southern Lebanon overnight Tuesday.
Sirens continued to sound in northern Israel on Thursday morning, including the Meron area. The IDF reported that 40 rockets were fired at the Galilee and Golan Heights in two barrages.
Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported on Israeli airstrikes in the area of Ayta ash Shab in Southern Lebanon.
