An interceptor was launched shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday at a suspected aerial target identified in an area where Israeli forces are operating in southern Lebanon, the IDF said, adding that the results of the interception were still under review.
Footage from the scene showed the interceptor in the sky as a bus carrying students traveled during morning school runs.
Direct in Shomera
Footage of the interceptor passing overhead as students looked on
(Video: Gilad Shushan)
At 8:20 a.m., sirens sounded in at least 15 communities along Israel’s northern border amid concerns of a drone incursion. Shortly afterward, a powerful explosion was heard following a direct strike in the area of Shomera, near the Lebanese border. A vehicle caught fire, and smoke was seen rising from the scene. No injuries were reported.
Shimon Guetta, head of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council in northern Israel, told Ynet that it was “a difficult morning” following launches toward the western Galilee and the impact in Shomera, a community within the council.
“I was in another community and rushed toward the school to check on the children,” he said. “I saw them trembling.”
Guetta added that four days earlier, a strike landed about 300 meters from a school in the council. “It cannot continue like this. There aren’t even 50% of students in school,” he said. “This is not a ceasefire — it’s fire without a pause.”
The incidents came as fire continued despite a ceasefire, once again during the morning hours as students were on their way to school.
First published: 09:23, 04.30.26