Hezbollah Attacks Northern Israel, Ki||s Civilian Couple
At least 150 rockets have been fired into northern Israel by Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, killing a civilian couple and injuring several others.
Paramedics reported that the couple, a man and a woman, both in their 40s, were fatally struck by shrapnel in the border town of Kiryat Shmona.
The couple had been walking their dog along a tree-lined street when they were hit, BBC reports.
It was reported that Hezbollah claimed that it had targeted Israeli forces in Kiryat Shmona, which has seen most of its residents evacuated due to ongoing cross-border hostilities over the past year.
These were the first Israeli civilian casualties from Hezbollah since the conflict escalated two weeks ago, when Israel launched a major airstrike campaign against the Iran-backed group before initiating a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
The rockets that struck Kiryat Shmona also ignited several fires.
One resident of the area was quoted as saying, “We could smell the fires before we saw them.”
On one street, neighbors watched as multiple teams of firefighters battled thick plumes of smoke from a house hit by a rocket.
Katy Krelshtein, who witnessed the destruction across the street from her father’s house, responded with raw anger when asked for her reaction.
“I saw red. It’s gone beyond fear now—it’s just anger,” she said.
For the people of Kiryat Shmona, rocket fire has reportedly been a daily reality for a year. Many residents said they wanted their military to take decisive action to end the attacks.
Shelley Barkan, one of the few remaining residents in her town, said there were days when they faced up to nine rocket alerts.
“I’ve got pieces of rockets in my garden,” she said, adding, “Their aim is to murder us, to kill us, to send Israel to the sea, and our aim is to defend ourselves.”
Israeli officials have reportedly stated that their ground invasion, which began nine days ago, aims to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure along the border, which is seen as an immediate threat to Israeli communities.
On Wednesday, intense battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters were reported in several Southern Lebanese areas.
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