During the interception of a Hezbollah drone by an Israeli Air Force combat helicopter, homes in a kibbutz in the western Galilee were struck Sunday by cannon shells fired from the helicopter. No one was injured, and the Israel Defense Forces said the incident is under investigation.
In a statement, Mateh Asher Regional Council head and Confrontation Line Forum chairman Moshe Davidovich said the incident “proves beyond any doubt that Home Front Command guidelines save lives.”
Helicopter intercepts drone in western Galilee, hits homes
(Video: Ilana Sarig Hughes)
“The fact that we have no bodily injuries is a direct result of high civilian discipline,” he said. “Residents entered protected spaces immediately when the siren sounded, and that is what saved their lives.”
He addressed residents, saying: “I want to sharpen the instructions in the clearest terms: the threat still exists. Do not be complacent. When a siren sounds or an alert appears on the app, you must enter a protected space and remain there for 10 minutes, no less, while also checking the Home Front Command’s instructions for those moments until you are released from the protected space.”
Earlier Sunday, President Isaac Herzog visited the regional council’s emergency operations center, where he was presented with an overview of the situation in the sector, the activity of the forces and the operational readiness on the ground, as well as the challenges facing northern communities during this period.
The two later continued to lunch at a local business in an effort to strengthen the local economy and express support for small businesses operating in the north amid the security challenges.
Herzog then visited the Galilee Medical Center, where he met IDF soldiers wounded in an incident that occurred this week on the Lebanon border. During the visit, the president spoke with the wounded soldiers and their families, expressed his support and wished them a speedy recovery. He later visited the Nahariya municipality’s operational command center, where he met with Mayor Ronen Marelly.
“I visited remarkable places with extraordinary resilience — people with strong civic capacity and resilience that radiates to the entire world,” Herzog said. “That allows us to manage this campaign, cut off the head of the snake — the head of the empire sitting in Tehran — and of course push Hezbollah back from Lebanon.”
“I call on residents throughout the area to continue showing vigilance and alertness, because sirens are sounding here constantly. We want to tell the residents of the north: we are with you with all our strength.”