Hezbollah continues firing at northern Israel, hits home in assisted living neighborhood in Safed

While Israel Defense Forces continued carrying out large airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, Hezbollah kept up its rocket fire at Israeli communities in northern Israel after targeting Tel Aviv for the first time in the war.

The IDF said that about 40 projectiles were detected crossing the border from Lebanon late Wednesday morning as warning sirens were activated in the Upper Galilee. 

According to the IDF Spokesperson's Office, several projectiles were intercepted, with one landing in an assisted-living facility for the elderly near the city of Safed. 

Dramatic videos on social media showed dozens of Iron Dome missiles being launched to intercept the missiles.

Firefighters from the Golan-Galilee station were dispatched to extinguish a number of fires due to impacts near Safed and Rosh Pina.

EMS personnel also searched a home that was struck by a rocket but there were no casualties as the tenant is currently overseas.

Safed Mayor Yossi Kakon told N12 News: “This is an assisted living neighborhood – a neighborhood close to military bases. The missile entered the rooms and miraculously there was no one in the house because the tenant is abroad.” 

The community had not yet been evacuated, but Kakon said he hoped the military would issue an evacuation order after the rocket attack. 

“We asked the Home Front Command and the army to evacuate this neighborhood because there is no protection or shelters. I hope that after the fall, the request will be answered.” 

Kakon also said, “This is a direct hit, not (Iron Dome) interceptor parts.” 

Following the rocket barrage on Wednesday morning, about 60 projectiles were launched toward Safed. 

The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen news outlet reported that the barrage of rockets was launched at “the colonial outpost of Hatzor” near Safed. 

The Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Poriya released a statement after the barrage: “During the last 24 hours, 12 victims of the rocket barrages arrived, all of them suffering from anxiety or injured on their way to shelters. Everyone's condition was described as mild, and they were released to their homes.” 

Siren alerts were sounded several times throughout the morning in the Lower Galilee region, the Golan Heights and along the Confrontation Line (northern border). 

Shortly before 9 a.m., a drone crossing into Israeli territory from Syria was intercepted and downed by Israeli Air Force fighter jets. 

Al Mayadeen reported that the drone was launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and quoted a statement from the group claiming the attack was “in continuation of our path in resisting the occupation, in support of our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and in response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against civilians, including children, women, and the elderly.” 

In another Hezbollah barrage towards the Galilee Wednesday afternoon, a home in Kibbutz Saar was hit by a rocket, injuring at least two people. 

Magen David Adom paramedics said they provided medical treatment and evacuated two wounded people to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, including a 35-year-old man in serious condition with shrapnel wounds in his upper body and a 52-year-old man in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds in his lower body. 

The two injured men were contract workers doing renovations in the house, whose owner is currently abroad. 

Kibbutz spokesman Yair Boymel said, “We in the kibbutz, with experience from previous wars, have suffered falls in the past within the kibbutz area. Those who live in our area today should be aware that there is a chance of this happening.” 

He also said the “Israeli government could have ended the story with Hezbollah a long time ago.” 

The Israel Electric Corporation said Wednesday afternoon that Hezbollah attempted to hit a strategic power facility during a barrage to the north earlier in the day. 

Due to protection systems already installed, the attack was thwarted. 

Eli Cohen, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said, "The Ministry of Energy, together with the IDF and all security agencies, is working to provide protection for the strategic energy facilities of the State of Israel. We are preparing for any scenario, and we will continue to provide regular and continuous energy to all citizens of Israel.” 

Wednesday evening, a Hezbollah rocket hit a cable car at the Mount Hermon site.
"The damage will require massive and rapid reconstruction in order to be able to provide for security needs on the Mount and for the success of the campaign in the north," said Rafael Naveh, director general of the site, which has been closed to visitors for an entire year. "Symbolically, the cable car cable replacement work was completed just on the evening of October 7."