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Austin expresses condolences to Gallant over Israeli soldier deaths
The US defence secretary offered his “condolences” to his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, over the killing of four Israeli soldiers, following a Hezbollah drone attack on a military base in northern Israel on Sunday night.
Lloyd Austin also reiterated “the importance of ensuring the safety and security of UNIFIL forces and Lebanese Armed Forces”, after the latest alleged violation of the UN peacekeeping force’s neutrality, when Israeli tanks entered a UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon.
Austin “stressed” that steps must be taken to address the “dire humanitarian situation in Gaza”, but reaffirmed once again the US’s “unwavering, enduring, and ironclad commitment to Israel’s security”.
Hezbollah strike on Israeli military unit was a ‘symbolic choice of target'
Four Israeli soldiers have been killed and seven others are in critical condition, along with a few dozen who are injured, following a surprise Hezbollah drone attack that evaded detection or interception by the Israeli army.
The attack happened on a military base in Binyamina, south of Haifa, and it comes after several warnings from Hezbollah that attacks would escalate. Shortly after the attack, we saw sirens going off with more rockets fired. The Israeli army said five rockets were intercepted over the skies of Haifa.
It’s a very symbolic choice of target by Hezbollah. The Golani Brigade is the elite unit of the Israeli military. This is a brigade that has participated in all of Israel’s wars and military operations, so it would have been part of the assault on Lebanon in the past – whether the 2006 war, the 1978 invasion or the 1982 invasion.
There is symbolism in targeting an elite unit that is supposed to be training in preparation for a ground offensive on Lebanon itself.
Hezbollah’s deadly drone attack is ‘painful’, Israeli army chief says
Herzi Halevi says the Hezbollah attack on a training base that killed at least four soldiers and injured 58 was “difficult and painful”.
“We are at war and an attack on a training base on the home front is difficult and the results are painful,” he told soldiers during a visit to the Golani Brigade base that was hit.
It is located in the Binyamina area, south of the port city of Haifa, on the Mediterranean coast. Hezbollah said a “swarm of drones” was used to target the facility, in response to Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon.
An ambulance arrives at the scene of the deadly drone attack
