Security and rescue forces at the site where a missile fired from Lebanon hit a building in the Arab city of Tira, central Israel, early on November 2, 2024. (Photo: Tal Gal/Flash90)
Eleven Israeli citizens were wounded by a Hezbollah rocket impact in the central town of Tira on Saturday, as the terror group shot some 160 rockets and ten drones at Israel over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the IDF eliminated four senior Hezbollah commanders through airstrikes.
Israeli media reported that of the 160 rockets launched overall, 130 crossed into Israeli territory, where most were either intercepted by IDF air defenses or fell in open areas. Seven of the ten drones were shot down.
Early Saturday morning, a volley of three rockets was launched at central Israel, triggering alerts in Herzliya, Kfar Saba, and the Arab-majority town of Tira.
🚨Sirens sounding in central Israel🚨 pic.twitter.com/VjFHMqoQPD
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 2, 2024
While two were shot down, one directly hit a home in Tira, moderately wounding three people. Eight others were lightly wounded by shrapnel and shards, while seven others were treated for acute shock and anxiety.
Hezbollah claimed it was aiming for the IDF intelligence base in Glilot, which is about 20 km (12 miles) from Tira.
Later on Saturday morning, Hezbollah launched three drones; one impacted the Jezreel Valley area, another struck a factory in Achziv, and the third was intercepted.
Amid incessant rocket fire throughout the day, notable rocket barrages included 10 launches at Haifa’s Krayot suburbs and the central Galilee in the morning, about 30 rockets at Karmiel, and 35 rockets at Nahariya and its surroundings in the afternoon.
צה”ל תקף וחיסל אתמול, במרחב צור את המחבל מעין מוסא עז אל דין, מפקד גזרת החוף של חיזבאללה ואת המחבל חסן מאג’ד ד’יאב, מפקד מערך הארטילריה של גזרת החוף בארגון, אשר היה אחראי על הירי לקריות שלשום>> pic.twitter.com/DdB40Xj9KX
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 2, 2024
The IDF continued its targeted eliminations of Hezbollah commanders over the weekend, killing the head of the terror group’s coastal district and his artillery chief in a strike in Tyre late on Friday, and the Nasr Unit’s missile and drone commanders in Jouaiya on Saturday.
Coastal commander Muein Musa Izz al-Din was responsible for the rocket fire at the Krayot on Thursday and had been serving in his new role since April after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Together with the commander of the unit’s artillery array, Hassan Majd Diab, he was responsible for over 400 rocket launches against Israel in the past month alone, the IDF stated.
Izz al-Din’s rank was equivalent to a brigade commander and he is Hezbollah’s 15th officer of his rank to be eliminated by Israel in the war so far, according to Army Radio.
In the town of Jouaiya, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) killed the commander of the Nasr Unit’s missile and rocket array, Jaafar Khader Faour, as well as the unit’s drone array commander.
Faour was responsible for the rocket fire from southern Lebanon’s eastern sector starting on Oct. 8 of last year, the IDF said. Among the attacks conducted under his command were the rocket strike that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams, the attack that killed an Israeli couple in Kibbutz Ortal, and the recent strike in Metula that killed five people.
Israeli troops continued their grinding advance across southern Lebanon, with 10 wounded soldiers being evacuated to Ziv Hospital in Safed this weekend.
Forces of the IDF’s 91st Division raided military buildings and confiscated numerous weapons, the military said. In one incident, reconnaissance troops ordered an airstrike at a building after spotting several terrorists operating there.
Soldiers of the 146th Division spotted Hezbollah operatives who were about to launch rockets at the Galilee and ordered an aircraft to strike the targets, killing the terror cell.
Over the weekend, the IAF struck over 120 terror targets belonging to Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza. In Lebanon, airstrikes destroyed anti-tank missile positions, military buildings, weapons warehouses and military headquarters, the IDF reported.
1 month recap of limited, localized & targeted IDF operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon: pic.twitter.com/TIV0GPKFnW
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 1, 2024
According to the IDF, Israeli soldiers and the IAF have so far eliminated over 1,500 Hezbollah terrorists during ground operations in southern Lebanon. In numerous raids, the troops located over 3,000 explosive devices, as well as more than 2,500 anti-tank weapons and launchers, including RPGs and Kornet missiles.
