Eighteen people were injured, one critically, in a massive Hezbollah rocket and drone attack on the Galil early Tuesday afternoon.

One of the drones scored a direct hit on a highway near Mazara’a, an Arab town between Akko and Nahariya, injuring 6 people.

A critically injured victim, a man in his 30s, was found unconscious in his car with a severe head injury from shrapnel, and a moderately injured woman in her 30s was found in a nearby parking lot with shrapnel injuries on her lower limbs. Paramedics administered emergency medical aid at the scene and evacuated them to the Galil Medical Center in Nahariya.

Four additional victims suffering from shrapnel wounds and/or shock were treated and evacuated to the hospital.

Twelve additional people were lightly wounded by shrapnel from rockets that hit the Nahariya area in at least two other locations.

The IDF later stated that the impact on the highway near Mazara’a was caused by an Iron Dome interceptor missile that missed its target and fell on the ground.

Prior to the attack, a series of rocket and drone infiltration sirens were heard across the Galil, including in Akko for the first time since the war began. The attack lasted for a full 15 minutes.

At least two suicide drones crossed into Israel and exploded. Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying that it targeted a military base near Akko.

Earlier on Tuesday, an IDF airstrike killed five people in southern Lebanon. The IDF said that it targeted a Hezbollah military site which was used to launch attacks on Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)