Four Israeli soldiers were killed and dozens were injured, seven critically, when a "swarm" of Hezbollah drones hit an army base near the northern Israeli town of Binyamina in one of the bloodiest attacks on the country since October 2023.
SEE ALSO: Living Under The Threat Of Hezbollah Rockets In Northern IsraelHezbollah is an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military early on October 14 said the attack took place at an army base some 60 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. It did not immediately provide further details.
CNN had earlier reported that the United Hatzalah rescue service said it had "provided assistance to over 60 wounded people in various conditions -- some of them in critical, serious, moderate, and light condition."
National emergency service Magen David Adom (AFMDA) said at least 67 people were injured in the attack in Israel's Haifa district.
Hezbollah -- which is considered a terrorist group by the United States, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing -- claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had launched a "swarm of attack drones" at a military training camp in Binyamina.
Iran-allied Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and drones into Israel but, because of Israel's sophisticated air-defense systems, most have been shot down or have caused little damage and few casualties.
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Israel Strikes Southern Lebanon, Fires Missile Interceptor Above Haifa (Video)
Earlier in the day, angry UN peacekeepers said Israeli forces had smashed into a gate of one of their bases in Lebanon, causing about 15 minor injuries.
"At around 4:30 a.m., while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position's main gate and forcibly entered the position in the Ramia area," said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), adding that the Israeli forces left after about 45 minutes.
Israel later claimed the tanks had come under fire when they crashed into the base gate.
The action came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said UN peacekeepers must "immediately" pull out of the combat zone in southern Lebanon and directly addressed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones," Netanyahu said, accusing Guterres of making UNIFIL soldiers "human shields" and "hostages of Hezbollah."
"Mr. Secretary-General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way. It should be done right now, immediately," he said.
SEE ALSO: Would An All-Out Israel-Iran War Send Oil Prices Skyrocketing?UNIFIL is a 9,500-strong mission created in 1978 tasked with monitoring a cease-fire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.
Forty nations that contribute to UNIFIL said in a joint statement on October 12 that they "strongly condemn recent attacks" on the peacekeepers. The United States and European leaders have demanded Israel stop firing at the peacekeepers, with U.S. President Joe Biden on October 12 saying he was "absolutely, positively" telling Israel to stop.
Fears of an all-out regional war grew as signs indicated Israel could be preparing to launch a direct strike on Iran in retaliation for Tehran's massive missile strike on Israel on October 1.
Biden on October 13 said he had ordered the Pentagon to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and troops to Israel as part of U.S. efforts "to defend Israel."
Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said the system will help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's missile attacks. The THAADs are similar to Patriot missile systems but can cover wider areas and require about 95 soldiers to operate, analysts say.
"It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias," Ryder said.
SEE ALSO: Living Under The Threat Of Hezbollah Rockets In Northern IsraelThe French presidency on October 13 said President Emmanuel Macron, in a phone call, told his Iranian counterpart, Masud Pezeshkian, it was Tehran's "responsibility" to back efforts to lower tensions in the Middle East. The Iranian presidency also reported the call, saying the sides discuss ways to end the conflict but also using heavily belligerent language toward Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on October 13 said Tehran was prepared for a "war situation," although he stated his government desired peace.
"We are fully prepared for a war situation. We are not afraid of war, but we do not want war. We want peace, and we will work for a just peace in Gaza and Lebanon," he said while on a visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Israeli warplanes hit a 100-year-old mosque in a village of Lebanon near the border early on October 13, a day after a marketplace was hit in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
Lebanon's Health Ministry reported deadly strikes in other areas of the country, including one on a Shi'ite Muslim village in a mostly Christian mountainous area.
Hezbollah said it launched rockets at Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory on October 13 as ground troops conducted incursions into the country's south.
A Hezbollah statement claimed it targeted a "gathering" of Israeli forces in the village of Maroun al-Ras "with artillery shells."
SEE ALSO: Would An All-Out Israel-Iran War Send Oil Prices Skyrocketing?Hezbollah fired hundreds of projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on October 12 as Israelis celebrated Yom Kippur, an important holiday on the Jewish religious calendar.
The escalation comes as Israel is also conducting fresh attacks in Gaza and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month.
Palestinian medical officials said on October 13 that an Israeli strike killed a family of eight and wounded seven others in the central Gaza Strip.
The attack late on October 12 hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing a couple and their six children, who ranged in age from 8 to 23, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the bodies were taken.
Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets in Gaza nearly every day for more than a year into the war with Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the United States and European Union.
The Israeli Army said in a statement on October 13 that forces operating throughout the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours had attacked about 40 targets and killed dozens of militants.
SEE ALSO: How Much Has Hamas's October 7 Attack Damaged Iran And Its Anti-Israel Alliance?Both Hamas and Hezbollah are allies of Iran. Israel has repeatedly said it will respond to Iran's missile attack on October 1, which Tehran said was launched in retaliation for Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon and the killings of a string of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
Washington believes Israel has narrowed down targets in its potential response to military and energy infrastructure, NBC reported on October 12, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
There is no indication that Israel will target Iran’s nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations, the NBC report said, adding that Israel has not made final decisions about how and when to act.
Araghchi said there would be "no red line" for Iran in defending its citizens from the potential strikes.
"While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests," Araghchi wrote in a post on X on October 13.