A member of the Israeli security forces stands guard inside a cordoned-off area in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa district of Israel, targeted by a reported strike by Lebanon's Hezbollah on Sept. 22, 2024. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
Seven people were wounded, one teenager died in a car crash, and hundreds of thousands of Israelis were forced to take shelter on Sunday morning, according to Israeli media, when Hezbollah launched three rounds of rocket barrages toward the north of the country, including at Haifa, the Jezreel Valley, and Tiberias.
Between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. in the morning, Hezbollah targeted the Ramat David military base and airport near Haifa in two operations, and the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a military technology company, in a third operation. Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel and the Sunday morning attacks mark the first time Hezbollah has targeted it, though drone footage released by the party in July purported to show images of Ramat David, showcasing its surveillance capabilities over the area.
The attacks were part of Hezbollah's response to the simultaneous detonation of its hand-held communication devices on Tuesday and Wednesday, which killed 39 people and wounded thousands across Lebanon. The operation is widely attributed to Israel, whose president denied any responsibility on Sunday.
Sunday morning strikes
The Israeli army announced that over 100 missiles had been fired into its airspace. Many of them were intercepted by its sophisticated missile defense system but Kiryat Bialik, Haifa's northern suburbs was directly hit, indicating that at least some of Hezbollah's rockets evaded interception. Images show large plumes of smoke, a building in flames, another pockmarked with shrapnel, and vehicles incinerated.
According to Israel's Channel 12 news, at least three strike sites have been reported: a two-story building in Kiryat Bialik, in the northern suburbs of Haifa; a house in the village of Moreshet, about 17 kilometers east of Haifa; and a dairy farm in Beit Shaarim in the Jezreel Valley, about 18 kilometers southeast of Haifa.
Hezbollah used Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 missiles, which are modified versions of an unguided Syrian missile.
The Commander of the Kiryat Fire and Rescue Station told Channel 12 that he felt the level of destruction implied more heavy-duty weaponry. "I'm not a missile expert," he said, "but my assessment is that this was a missile of an order of magnitude larger than what we are used to."
At least four people in Kfar Masaryk, Jadeidi-Makr and Ilut were injured by shrapnel, according to Israeli civil defense. Haaretz reported that three people were wounded in the hit on Kiryat Bialik and Times of Israel reported that one teenager died when he crashed his car during the sounding of warning sirens in the Jezreel Valley.
"As soon as we reached the shelter door, the explosions started," according to testimonies, cited on Channel 12, from a resident of the Kiryat Bialik, which was originally named the "German Immigrants Neighborhood," when it was first settled. "The door shattered on me and my daughter. A missile fell in the house next to us. When we went out to the street we saw fire up high, and burnt cars."
Schools, hospitals receive Home Command directives
The military's Home Command announced that schools in northern Israel, which run from Sunday to Friday, have been closed until at least Monday at 6 p.m., and according to local residents speaking to AFP, offices are empty and there is increasing pressure felt as a result of the intensifying fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. The Home Command also banned gatherings in any areas from Haifa northward, according to Haaretz.
Members of the medical staff check on a patient transported from the upper floors to the underground parking area of the Ramdam Hospital in Haifa on Sept. 22, 2024, after Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets on northern Israel. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
Hospitals were also given instruction to transfer their operations to facilities with extra protection from rocket and missile fire, Israeli media reports, citing the country's health ministry, with Rambam Hospital, in Haifa, moving its patients into its underground parking garage.
"This is an operation that will last several hours and will include several hundred patients," the hospital is quoted as saying on Channel 12.
Last week, the Israeli army moved its elite 98th Division, deployed in Gaza, to the northern front, saying the transfer was part of the military's decision to shift its center of gravity to the Lebanese border. The 98th Division includes the Paratroopers Brigade and the Commando Brigade, according to Haaretz. It joins the 36th Division, which has been stationed in northern Israel for several months.
