Hezbollah drone attack sends thousands to shelters in northern Israel

Air-raid sirens blared across Israel’s Western Galilee region on Monday morning, sending thousands of civilians scrambling for bomb shelters as Iranian-backed Hezbollah launched a drone attack from Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it launched an interceptor missile toward a “target that was launched from Lebanon,” but said it subsequently lost contact with the UAV.

“No injuries were reported,” the military stated, adding that additional missile alerts in the north were activated “due to concerns of falling interception debris.”

On Sunday, an IDF soldier was killed and six others were wounded by a Hezbollah drone strike in Southern Lebanon. The fallen soldier was identified as Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19, of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, from Petach Tikvah.

Fooks was the third Israeli soldier to be killed in Southern Lebanon since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect on April 17, and the first to be killed in a direct Hezbollah attack during the truce, according to the IDF.

תיעוד דרמטי: לוחמים יורים על רחפן הנפץ ששיגר חיזבאללה במהלך פינוי הפצועים בכפר א-טייבה שבדרום לבנון@ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/giTGw3y3oS

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 26, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Hezbollah of “essentially disintegrating the ceasefire” through its incessant attacks.

“Therefore, as far as we are concerned, what obligates us is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, and the security of our communities,” the premier said. “We are acting vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and incidentally, with Lebanon as well.”

The IDF will maintain its freedom “not only to respond to attacks, which is obvious, but to thwart immediate threats and also to neutralize emerging threats,” he added.

The prime minister, in an overnight letter to his Cabinet on Sunday, ordered the cancellation of traditional Lag B’Omer celebrations on Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee, scheduled for May 4–5, due to the Hezbollah threat, Kan News reported Monday.

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs noted in the missive that “following several security assessments on the matter, and in light of the [IDF] Home Front Command’s updated defensive policy, limiting gatherings to up to 1,500 people, the celebrations of the hilula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai at Meron will not take place this year with large participation, but rather in a symbolic format only, in accordance with the defensive policy, which is not expected to change by the time of the hilula.”

The letter cited fears of a mass-casualty event “due to the fragility of the ceasefire with Lebanon, the site’s proximity to the Lebanese border, rocket fire toward the area and the difficulty of conducting large-scale evacuations of participants.”

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones at Israel on March 2, in retaliation for the Jewish state’s targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Khamenei was eliminated in the opening strikes of “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury” against the Islamic regime on Feb. 28.

In response to the terrorist organization’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah and ordered IDF troops to advance and take control of additional areas in Southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.

Jerusalem and Beirut on April 16 agreed to a 10-day ceasefire following mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump. Last week, the two countries agreed to extend the ceasefire for three more weeks following historic direct talks in Washington, D.C.