Tel Aviv [Israel], October 14: More than 60 people have been injured in a drone strike targeting the Binyamina region of northern Israel, medics have said.
In a statement, volunteer emergency response organisation United Hatzalah said the conditions of the wounded ranged from critical to mild. It said all had been taken to five regional hospitals, either by ambulance or helicopter.
Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said targeted a training camp of the Israeli Defence Forces' (IDF) Golani Brigade in the area, which is based between Tel Aviv and Haifa.
The armed group's media office said the strike was in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut on Thursday.
The group said it targeted the camp in northern Israel using a "swarm of drones".
Israeli censorship rules prevent media outlets saying exactly where or what was targeted, but some media outlets say the location was hit by a low-level drone launched from Lebanon - a relatively unsophisticated weapon that appears not to have activated early warning alarms.
And Israeli media reports that at least 67 people have been injured - with four in a critical condition and five others seriously wounded.
Many of the wounded have been evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre in nearby Hadera - with others being taken to hospitals in Tel Hashomer, Haifa, Afula and Netanya.
Details are still scarce but many of the injured appear to have been in a communal canteen at the time and were caught completely by surprise. Images circulating on social media appear to show an empty mess hall with a hole in the roof.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Health Ministry said that 51 people were killed and 174 people injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon on Saturday.
The ministry said on Sunday that most of the casualties the day prior were in southern Lebanon, near the city Nabatiyeh and mountainous areas.
In total, 2,306 people have been killed and 10,698 injured in Lebanon since the fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military broke out just over a year ago.
The Lebanese army said on Sunday that three of its soldiers were wounded in Israeli fire while attempting to open closed roads in southern Lebanon. The army said Israeli forces "targetted" two military vehicles in the town of Burj al-Muluk.
It added that the vehicles were transporting a bulldozer with the aim of opening roads damaged "as a result of hostile bombing." The Lebanese army sits on the sidelines in the conflict between Hezbollah militants and the Israeli military. However, soldiers have been killed by Israeli fire in previous incidents.
Israeli tanks have forcibly entered a United Nations peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon, according to a UN statement.
"Two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the position's main gate and forcibly entered the position. They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights," the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.
It added that the tanks left about 45 minutes later after UNIFIL protested through its liaison mechanism. The UN peacekeeping forces said the Israeli military's presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.
About two hours later, another incident occurred at the same location, UNIFIL said. Shots were fired and smoke was seen rising, after which 15 peacekeepers suffered skin irritations and gastrointestinal problems, the UN forces said.
The Israeli military also stopped an important "UNIFIL logistics movement" near the Lebanese border town of Mais al-Jabal on Saturday and denied its passage, the same statement said.
The Israeli army has so far made no comment on the incidents.
Source: Qatar Tribune