One man was moderately wounded and another lightly injured on Tuesday morning by a Hezbollah rocket attack on central Israel, according to first responders.
Magen David Adom emergency personnel said the moderately wounded victim, a 54-year-old bus driver, was struck in the head and chest by shrapnel. He was hit when either a rocket or interceptor fragment slammed into Highway 6 near the Horesh Junction, and was evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.
A 31-year-old man driving a private car was lightly wounded by shrapnel, according to the MDA.
The Israel Police announced that the road was closed in both directions from the Eyal Interchange to Horashim. Drivers were urged to avoid the area and seek alternative routes.
The attack set off sirens in multiple cities, including Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Kfar Saba and Ra’anana, with residents reporting hearing explosions throughout the region.
According to the Israel Defense Force’s initial assessments, Hezbollah launched three or four rockets at central Israel in the terror group’s latest barrage.
“Following the alerts activated in the Gush Dan, Sharon, Yarkon and Shomron regions, several launches from Lebanon into Israeli territory were identified, some of which were intercepted. The details of the incident are under investigation,” the Israel Defense Forces said.
Police said they were responding to several sites in the Sharon area where fragments fell, “searching for debris and additional items to eliminate any further risk to the public.”
Ynet reported that rocket fragments fell in Ramat Hasharon and interceptor fragments were found at two locations in Kfar Saba.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying that it targeted the Glilot military base near Herzliyah with Fadi-4 missiles. Glilot base is home to the IDF’s Unit 8200 and Mossad headquarters.
On Tuesday afternoon, the IDF’s Home Front Command tightened defensive restrictions for many parts of the country, effective immediately.
The updated guidelines limiting activities and gatherings specifically apply to Carmel, Wadi Ara, Menashe, Samaria, Sharon, Dan, Yarkon, Shfela, Jerusalem and Judean Shfela.
In accordance with the new guidelines, educational and work activities are restricted to buildings or places where there is access to a proper protective space. Also, gatherings and services are limited to 30 people in open spaces and up to 300 people indoors.
The changes are in effect until Saturday at 8 p.m.
There are no changes to the guidelines for the rest of the country.
“Continue to follow the instructions published by the Home Front Command through official distribution channels,” the IDF said. “The full guidelines are updated on the National Emergency Portal and the Home Front Command app.”
On Tuesday evening, several missiles launched from Lebanon landed in open areas in central Israel, according to the IDF.
Sirens were not activated as the projectiles were not headed towards populated areas.
Hezbollah claimed to have fired the missiles at the Sde Dov airbase on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
Last Wednesday, the IDF intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah at central Israel. The Iranian terror proxy claimed the target was the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency.
On Friday, Israel’s “Arrow” defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile fired by Houthis in Yemen. The missile was downed “outside [Israel’s] borders,” according to the military.
On Sept. 15, Israeli air defenses intercepted fragments of a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen that exploded over central Israel.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out dozens of airstrikes on Houthi terrorist targets in the area of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Sunday in response to the two most recent missile attacks on central Israel.
In July, a Houthi drone killed a man in Tel Aviv, in response to which Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah port. The Iranian terror proxy has launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.