As of a result of the Thursday morning Katyusha rocket attack in northern Israel, a Nahariya senior citizens home is being evacuated. The damage to the building is extensive, blowing out doors, windows, and rupturing water lines.

Residents were in the dinning room and as a result, catastrophic results were avoided. Nevertheless, the operators of the facility explain the residents must leave due to the extensive damage. The residents are being sent to family members or other facilities.

IDF Homefront Command officials stress that while shelters in western Galil areas were ordered opened, the military did not instruct municipal governmental leaders to close schools and the decision to do so in Nahariya and elsewhere was a local government decision alone.

The Homefront Command does confirm it ordered shelters opened and advise people to remain close by in the event of another attack.

Three people were transported to Nahariya Hospital with minor physical injuries and about 10 are being treated for hysteria/shock.

The IDF response was one of restraint, firing a number of 122mm rockets at the launch location. The IAF is flying over southern Lebanon and thousands of Lebanese Army and UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) troops are reportedly operating in the launch area, working to prevent another attack. It appears Israel is regarding the attack as an isolated incident perpetrated by a “Palestinian terror organization, not Hizbullah”.

Hamas in Lebanon is boasting responsibility for the attack. Military officials in Israel add the rockets fired are quite old, not the type deployed by Hizbullah.

The northern area remains on alert at this time while Israel is hopeful the situation will not deteriorate into a second front of warfare.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)