“We have currently issued instructions for residents to enter bomb shelters until further notice.”
By World Israel News Staff
At least 18 Israelis were injured after an aerial attack by Hezbollah on Wednesday, which saw a suicide drone launched by the Lebanese terror group slam into a community center in northern Israel.
The victims, who included both local civilians and IDF reservists, were transported to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Four people were reported to be seriously wounded, while the remainder were listed by the hospital as being in moderate or light condition.
Former Kach Party activist Noam Federman’s son, David Federman, was among the IDF soldiers injured in the attack.
The explosions occurred in Arab Al-Aramashe, a Bedouin village about a kilometer away from the northern border with Lebanon.
Due to its proximity to Lebanon, the community was evacuated in October 2023. However, many of the residents chose to return to their homes after being housed in a Nazareth hotel for nearly six months.
Videos from the scene circulating on social media depicted large plumes of black smoke rising from the site, with an additional video capturing flames upon the moment of impact. Other images showed that the community center’s glass windows had shattered.
The blast wounded people inside the community center and passengers in a car that had driven by at the time of the explosion.
According to the mayor of Arab Al-Aramshe, two additional projectiles, which may have been anti-tank missiles, struck the village.
“The village took three hits, including one direct hit to the community center, and another struck the plaza in front of it,” Adib Za’eb told Maariv.
“We have multiple people wounded, with varying degrees of injury. We have currently issued instructions for residents to enter bomb shelters until further notice.”
Notably, sirens did not sound in the community prior to the strike. The Israeli army did not comment regarding the explosion or the reason that the alarms had not alerted residents to take cover.
Wednesday’s blast was not the first time that the Bedouin community has been targeted by the Hezbollah terror group.
During the 2006 Lebanon War, three residents of Arab Al-Aramashe were killed when a Hezbollah rocket struck their home.