Elderly Israeli and Son Killed in Terror Attack on Israel-Lebanon Border

Latest Developments

Lebanese terrorists launched an anti-tank missile at an Israeli border village on January 14, killing an elderly woman, Miri Ayalon, and her son, Barak Ayalon. Their 74-year-old relative was also hospitalized. Six Israeli civilians and nine Israeli soldiers have been killed near the Israel-Lebanon border since Iran-backed Hezbollah and other terrorist groups began carrying out attacks in solidarity with Hamas’s war. The last death of an Israeli civilian living near the border was on November 13, and two Israeli soldiers were killed in separate attacks in December.

Expert Analysis

“Hezbollah has lost more than 150 front line fighters, as well as allied Palestinian terrorists, to Israel’s counterstrikes into southern Lebanon. It has resorted to sneak attacks on Israeli civilians. Community after community in northern Israel have reported frontline houses, which were mostly evacuated as a precaution, destroyed by munitions designed for military armor. And, occasionally, a civilian who stayed behind falls victim. This only underscores Israel’s insistence on removing the Hezbollah threat by whatever means necessary so that its northern residents can return in safety.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD Chief Executive

“Hezbollah cannot afford a full-blown war with Israel. But neither can its Iranian patron afford to lose another proxy to Israel’s military operations. Hence the ‘limited’ Hezbollah attacks: a gambit to overstretch Israeli defense and sap Israeli morale. Hezbollah looks likely to underestimate its enemy’s resolve and the potential for a major flare-up that would ruin Lebanon.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Israel responds, shelling Hezbollah command post

The Israeli military shelled Hezbollah targets, including an operational command post, in response to the missile attack that killed the Ayalons. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm its responsibility for the Kfar Yuval attack. Hours earlier, Israel said four heavily armed infiltrators at the Lebanese border near Har Dov were killed by its forces, and five Israeli troops were wounded. The attackers’ affiliation was not immediately clear. These incidents follow the death of senior Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil, who was killed in an airstrike on January 9.

Related Analysis

“Hezbollah Attacks Israel Using Kamikaze Drones,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israeli Government Shows Unity in Response to Hezbollah Provocations,” FDD Flash Brief

“Here’s how Hezbollah will likely respond to Israel’s assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri,” by FDD Senior Fellow David Daoud