The Iron Dome air defense system intercepting missiles from Lebanon over northern Israel on Sept. 23, 2024. (Credit: Jim Urquhart/Reuters)
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for six strikes between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Tuesday, targeting Israeli positions located several dozen kilometers from the border with Lebanon, including Afoula and Megiddo. This came after a day marked by hundreds of deadly bombings in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
In three separate statements, the Shiite group stated that it had targeted the Megiddo military airport west of Afoula on three occasions. The first of these strikes was conducted using "Fadi-1 and Fadi-2 missiles," while the second involved only the latter type of projectile.
Afoula is located about 30 kilometers southeast of Haifa and 50 kilometers in a straight line from the Blue Line. Megiddo Airport is situated five kilometers west of the city. This aerodrome primarily hosts private flights, training activities, and agricultural work, such as pesticide spraying, as well as drone operations. It previously served as a military base before being decommissioned in the 1980s.
Amos Base and Explosives Factory
Hezbollah also launched "Fadi-2" missiles at the Ramat David base, located a few kilometers east of Haifa. This base and its airport were targeted for the first time by the group early Sunday morning, marking an unprecedented attack on the Haifa region that put northern Israel on high alert and resulted in seven injuries.
Hezbollah has also launched an attack on the "Amos base," located on the outskirts of Afoula, near Megiddo Airport.
This base, struck with "Fadi-1" missiles, serves as a logistics center for distributing products by truck and transferring goods to the military, according to an article published in September 2021 on the Israeli army's website. It mainly houses soldiers working in administrative and logistical roles.
The last strike of the night, also carried out with a "salvo of Fadi-2" missiles, targeted "an explosives factory in the Zikhron region." Zikhron Yaakov is situated approximately 60 kilometers in a straight line from the border and about 30 kilometers north of Haifa.
For its part, the Israeli army reported that 20 missiles had been launched in the "recent rocket barrages" coming from Lebanon. Haaretz reported multiple alerts in northern Israel, particularly in the Afoula area. The police, as cited by the media, noted that fragments of interceptor missiles fell in Afoula and Nazareth (a few kilometers further north), with no injuries reported.
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