Multiple Injuries in Northern Israel After Hezbollah Drone Attack

Latest Developments

A Hezbollah drone barrage on Israel’s western Galilee region injured 19 Israelis near the city of Nahariya on August 6 as Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire along the northern border. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that some of the injuries were caused by an Iron Dome interceptor that malfunctioned as it attempted to intercept the drones, exploding on impact along the Route 4 highway. A man in his 40s received critical injuries after his car was hit by the interceptor while he was driving, causing him to crash on the side of the road. The Times of Israel reported that a 65-year-old woman was moderately injured by shrapnel in a parking lot hundreds of meters away. Six IDF soldiers were lightly wounded when drones hit the Camp Shraga military base south of Nahariya, causing a fire.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying that it launched a squadron of drones toward western Galilee that struck their intended targets. The IDF said that several drones from Lebanon crossed into Israeli territory. Israeli air defenses intercepted one of the drones, while the other impacted, injuring several civilians.

Expert Analysis

“Hezbollah continues to behave as if it can indefinitely walk the tightrope by drawing Israeli blood but keeping the ongoing conflict below the threshold of a full-blown war. Their fatal and tragic error in Majdal Shams should have taught them otherwise, but perhaps the group has begun to believe its own propaganda that the injuries there resulted from an errant Iron Dome interceptor and not its own projectiles.” — David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow

“While Nasrallah vows significant retaliation for the assassination of Fuad Shukr, the IDF continues to pound Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, causing serious damage to the Iran-backed group. Today’s attack appears to be another attempt by Hezbollah to save face.” — Ahmad Sharawi, FDD Research Analyst

Hezbollah Sends Barrage of Rockets After Israeli Strikes

The IDF responded to the attack by conducting several strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including a weapons depot in Kafr Kila that several Hezbollah terrorists were seen entering. An IDF drone also struck a Hezbollah cell that was leaving a rocket launching site on Misgav Am. Israel also struck buildings used by Hezbollah in Ayta Ash-Shab and a rocket launcher in Abu Shash.

Hezbollah responded by launching a barrage of 30 rockets into northern Israel, 20 at the Golan Heights — all of which impacted in open areas — and 10 rockets into the Galilee panhandle. Some were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while some impacted in open areas, starting fires. No injuries were reported during the barrage.

Nasrallah Threatens ‘Strong, Effective’ Attack on Israel

The back-and-forth between the Iran-backed terrorist group and Israeli forces occurred on the same day that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a televised address to mark one week since Israel’s targeted elimination of Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr. Shukr was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on July 30 after he directed the April 13 drone attack on the northern Israeli Druze town of Majdal Shams, which killed 12 children on a soccer field.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a G7 foreign minister’s meeting on August 4 that Hezbollah is also likely to take part in an expected Iranian attack on Israel in response to the July 31 assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Related Analysis

“Hezbollah Attack Threatens Full-Scale War With Israel,” by Jonathan Schanzer and David Daoud

“Blinken Warns of Imminent Attack on Israel,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Braces for Possible Iranian Proxy Attack From West Bank,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Kills Most Senior Hezbollah Military Commander in Retaliatory Strike,” FDD Flash Brief