Four soldiers have died, and more than 60 others have been injured in a drone strike targeting an army base in northern Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF reported that seven soldiers were seriously injured in the attack on a base “adjacent to Binyamina,” a town approximately 20 miles (33 km) south of Haifa.
Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the assault, stating that it targeted a training camp of the IDF’s Golani Brigade located in the region between Tel Aviv and Haifa. The armed group’s media office indicated that the strike was a response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut on Thursday.
Hezbollah announced that the camp in northern Israel was hit using a “swarm of drones.”
The Israeli ambulance service, Magen David Adom (MDA), reported that 61 individuals were injured in the attack, including three critically. The service noted that 37 victims were transported to eight regional hospitals via ambulance or helicopter.
Before the IDF confirmed the casualties, MDA stated that, alongside the three critically injured, 18 others were in moderate condition, 31 sustained minor injuries, and nine were experiencing anxiety.
The discrepancy between the number of critical injuries reported by MDA and the IDF remains unclear.
Initially, Israeli censorship rules restricted media outlets from reporting the specific location or target of the strike until the IDF confirmed it was the Binyamina base.
Some Israeli media have suggested that the base was struck by a low-level drone launched from Lebanon—an unsophisticated weapon that seemingly did not trigger early-warning alarms.
Throughout the evening, television bulletins, social media updates, and online reports showcased footage of emergency vehicles, including helicopters, transporting casualties to hospitals across northern Israel.
Many of the injured were evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre in nearby Hadera, while others were taken to hospitals in Tel Hashomer, Haifa, Afula, and Netanya.
Details remain limited, but it appears that many of the injured were in a communal canteen at the time of the strike and were caught completely off guard. Images circulating on social media depict an empty mess hall with a hole in the roof.
