At least 8 Israelis wounded amid 250 Hezbollah rockets: Non-stop rocket attacks rain on northern and central Israel
Former DM Gantz demands Israel hit infrastructure in Lebanon in response to escalation
Rocket alarm sirens were activated five times in central Israel, while northern Israel was targeted almost non-stop throughout the day on one of the most intense days of Hezbollah attacks against Israel in recent months.
At least eight Israelis suffered injuries, and several houses and buildings were damaged by direct rocket explosions and shrapnel impacts as the terror group launched over 250 rockets and several more drones, triggering hundreds of separate warning sirens.
Red alerts as of 18:00 today, November 24, 2024:
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) November 24, 2024
🔸 Red alerts: 401 (314 rocket alerts, 87 UAV alerts) in 11 regions.
🔸 Unique areas with sirens: 237
⭕️ Confrontation Line — Shlomi (×5), Shomera (×6), Shtula (×4), Tel Hai, Kiryat Shmona (×7), Margaliot (×2), Kibutz Dan, Beit… pic.twitter.com/biaHE3YPDB
The rocket tally even rises to around 340 if attacks on Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon are included, according to Israel's Channel 12 News.
Several Israeli media outlets cited a recent speech of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, who declared that Tel Aviv would suffer the same fate as Beirut, where the IDF has continuously struck Hezbollah’s weapon depots, production facilities, and command centers in recent days.
The shape of Hezbollah’s attacks today targeting a huge swath of Israel.
— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) November 24, 2024
Most recent one at 18:12
IDF: Sirens sounded in the areas of the Center Galilee, HaAmakim, HaMifratz, Sharon, Samaria and Menashe. pic.twitter.com/2r9adnGwwP
According to Ynet News, Sunday saw the most alarm sirens this month so far. Buildings were damaged in the northern towns Haifa, Nahariya, Ma’a lot Tarshiha, Kiryat Shmona, Metula – but also in Petah Tikva and Moshav Renatiya in central Israel, which was targeted five times.
Amid the sharp increase in Hezbollah’s rocket attacks, Benny Gantz, the former war cabinet member and leader of the National Unity party, demanded that the government escalate its strikes in Lebanon accordingly.
Damage is reported to a building in Haifa following Hezbollah's rocket barrage on the northern port city.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 24, 2024
The Haifa municipality says one person is lightly wounded by shrapnel. pic.twitter.com/AVDqObeUWG
“The Lebanese government gives Hezbollah a free hand. The time has come to act strongly against its assets,” Gantz wrote on X.
Israel has so far focused its attacks only on Hezbollah targets, and consciously decided not to strike civilian targets that serve the terror group’s war effort, like electricity plants or bridges, for example.
The IDF struck by with airstrikes throughout the day, for example, destroying a rocket launcher that was used to attack Haifa earlier in the day.
צה"ל תקף לפני זמן קצר את המשגר ממנו בוצעו השיגורים לעבר מרחב המפרץ מוקדם יותר היום בשעות 13:03-13:04.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 24, 2024
בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו במרחבים הגליל המערבי, הגליל העליון והמפרץ בשעות 15:31-15:35, זוהו כ-25 שיגורים שחצו משטח לבנון.
חלקם יורטו, זוהו נפילות>> pic.twitter.com/BX3VrH3Yna
The Israeli Air Force also continued to destroy Hezbollah targets, particularly headquarters and command centers, in its Dahiyeh stronghold in southern Beirut.
In the morning, a Hezbollah rocket penetrated the aerial defenses and exploded in a residential area in Petah Tikva, moderately wounding one person and lightly wounding four others. Numerous houses and vehicles suffered significant damage.
Petah Tikvah mayor Rami Greenberg spoke with Ynet News about the impact. “There was a rocket impact here, in the area of a residential neighborhood. Fortunately, it did not fall on a house, but in an open area between houses, and as a result, there was damage to the surrounding houses,” he said.
In Ma’alot Tarshiha, a factory was hit, with shrapnel lightly wounding a woman in her 50s.
The mayor of Metula, Israel’s northernmost town located in the Galilee panhandle, said his town suffered extensive damage.
Mayor David Azoulay said that “eight volleys [of rockets] were launched this morning that caused extensive damage to buildings in the community. There are no casualties, but there is a lot of property damage.”
תיעוד: אזעקות באזור מגדל וגינוסר בזמן שתלמידי בית ספר עמדו לעלות להסעות@rubih67
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 24, 2024
(צילום: ליאור יובל) pic.twitter.com/TPVsRNfcis
In the area of Migdal and Ginossar on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, an alarm siren caught schoolchildren as they were about to go on their buses to return home from school, causing some to panic.
“Sirens sounded across most of the country as people started their day rushing to shelters instead of school or work,” said IDF International Spokesman, Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani.
Approx. 240 projectiles were fired at Israeli civilians today, disrupting the lives of families across the country. Sirens sounded across most of the country as people started their day rushing to shelters instead of school or work. Some didn’t know if their homes would still be… pic.twitter.com/he4EESOmpk
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) November 24, 2024
“Some didn’t know if their homes would still be standing when they returned. Some had nowhere to return to. In the city of Petah Tikvah in central Israel, there was a direct hit on a neighborhood, leaving houses in flames and ruins. This footage shows the destruction Hezbollah aims to cause indiscriminately, targeting civilians. No country would tolerate this aggression. The IDF will continue to defend our civilians and respond to these attacks,” he wrote on X.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.