Four soldiers have been killed and more than 60 other people injured in a drone strike targeting an army base in northern Israel, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said.
The IDF added seven soldiers had been severely injured in the attack on a base “adjacent to Binyamina” – a town around 20 miles (33km) to the south of Haifa.
The Israeli ambulance service, Magen David Adom (MDA), said 61 people had been injured in the attack – including three critically.
The reason for the discrepancy in the number of critical injuries between MDA and the IDF is not clear.
Footage carried by Israeli media showed those wounded being helped into emergency vehicles, including helicopters.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a drone strike that targeted an army base in northern Israel resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and the injuries of more than sixty others.
A base “near to Binyamina,” a town about 20 miles (33 km) south of Haifa, was the target of an attack, the IDF reported, injuring seven soldiers seriously.
A training camp for the Israeli Defence Forces’ (IDF) Golani Brigade, located in the region halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, was the target of the attack, which Hezbollah claimed responsibility for.
The strike was carried out in retaliation for Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and Beirut on Thursday, according to the armed group’s media office.
A “swarm of drones,” according to the group, was used to target the camp located in northern Israel.
61 people were hurt in the attack, three of them critically, according to the Israeli ambulance service, Magen David Adom (MDA). 37 of them had also been transported by ambulance or helicopter to eight regional hospitals.
The MDA released a statement prior to the IDF confirming the fatalities. It stated that in addition to the three critically injured, 18 other victims were in a moderate condition, 31 had minor injuries, and nine individuals were “suffering anxiety.”.
It is unclear why there is a difference in the number of critical injuries between the MDA and the IDF.
A low-level drone launched from Lebanon is said to have struck the location; this relatively simple weapon does not appear to have set off early warning alarms. However, media outlets are prohibited by Israeli censorship regulations from disclosing the precise location or object that was targeted.
Israeli media outlets carried footage of the injured being helped into emergency vehicles, including helicopters.
Some of the injured have been transferred to hospitals in Tel Hashomer, Haifa, Afula, and Netanya, while a large number have been evacuated to the nearby Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre in Hadera.
Although there are still few details available, it appears that many of the injured were taken completely by surprise as they were in a shared canteen at the time. According to pictures going around social media, there is a roof hole and an abandoned mess hall.