The Israeli military confirmed early Monday that four Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah drone attack which, according to the Iran-backed Lebanese group, targeted a Golani Brigade camp in Binyamina in northern Israel.
Seven troopers were also critically injured, the IDF said in a statement.
A report by the Times of Israel says two Hezbollah drones entered the Israeli airspace from the sea, one of which was shot down off the coast of Haifa.
The drones were of Mirsad model, known in Iran as the Ababil-2, which is considered Hezbollah’s main suicide drone, the report said, citing preliminary investigations into the deadly attack.
The Hezbollah attack comes after the United States announced it will be sending Israel its THAAD missile defense system.
Pentagon's spokesman said in a statement that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment of the THAAD battery at the direction of President Joe Biden.
He said the system will help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and October and protect Americans in Israel against future Iranian attacks.
The Hezbollah attack comes amid Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran in reaction to Tehran's October 1 missile barrage.
The United States has been privately urging Israel to calibrate its response to avoid triggering a broader war in the Middle East, officials say, with Biden publicly voicing his opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites and his concerns about a strike on Iran's energy infrastructure.
Now the Israeli war cabinet is under greater pressure for responding to attacks by Iran and its Lebanese proxy.
Hezbollah's Sunday attack comes a couple of weeks after Israeli airstrikes killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah and almost all other top commanders of the group.
