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Four soldiers have been killed and 58 injured in a drone strike targeting an army base in northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said targeted a training camp of the IDF’s Golani Brigade in the area, which is based between Tel Aviv and Haifa.<\/p>\n
The armed group’s media office said the strike was in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The group said it targeted the camp in northern Israel using a “swarm of drones”. <\/p>\n
The attack was one of the biggest on an Israeli position in more than a year.<\/p>\n
The Israeli ambulance service, Magen David Adom (MDA), earlier said 61 people had been injured in the attack – including three critically. It added 37 of them had been taken to eight regional hospitals, either by ambulance or helicopter.<\/p>\n
In a statement before the IDF confirmed the deaths, MDA said that alongside the three critically injured, 18 of the victims were in a moderate condition, 31 sustained mild injuries and nine people were “suffering anxiety”.<\/p>\n
The reason for the discrepancy in the number of critical injuries between MDA and the IDF is not clear.<\/p>\n
Israeli censorship rules had initially prevented media outlets reporting exactly where or what was targeted, before the IDF confirmed it was the Binyamina base.<\/p>\n
Some Israeli media outlets have reported the base was hit by a low-level drone launched from Lebanon – a relatively unsophisticated weapon that appears not to have activated early-warning alarms.<\/p>\n
Throughout the evening, television bulletins, social media posts and online reports showed footage of emergency vehicles, including helicopters, taking casualties to hospitals across northern Israel.<\/p>\n
Many of the wounded have been evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre in nearby Hadera – with others being taken to hospitals in Tel Hashomer, Haifa, Afula and Netanya.<\/p>\n
Details are still scarce but many of the injured appear to have been in a communal canteen at the time and were caught completely by surprise. Images circulating on social media appear to show an empty mess hall with a hole in the roof. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n