Israel Reports Aerial Attack on Eilat, Iraq Group Claims Launch

An Israeli navy patrol boat sails in the Red Sea, in Israel's southern Red Sea resort city of Eilat on December 26, 2023 (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
An Israeli navy patrol boat sails in the Red Sea, in Israel's southern Red Sea resort city of Eilat on December 26, 2023 (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
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Israel Reports Aerial Attack on Eilat, Iraq Group Claims Launch

An Israeli navy patrol boat sails in the Red Sea, in Israel's southern Red Sea resort city of Eilat on December 26, 2023 (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
An Israeli navy patrol boat sails in the Red Sea, in Israel's southern Red Sea resort city of Eilat on December 26, 2023 (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Israel's Red Sea port city of Eilat came under an aerial attack on Monday that caused no casualties, the military said, and an Iranian-backed armed group in Iraq issued a claim of responsibility.

The military's statement said a flying object launched from east of Israel had struck a building in Eilat. It did not elaborate on the object or the provenance. Sirens went off in the city but there was no interception by air defenses, it said.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement that it had attacked a "vital objective" in Israel "using appropriate weapons". It did not offer further details.

Eilat has come under repeated missile and drone attack from the Iranian-aligned Houthis in Yemen during Israel's almost six-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza. In November, Israel said a group in Syria had launched a drone that hit the port city.



Heavy Israeli Strikes Shake Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Heavy Israeli Strikes Shake Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Strong explosions in Beirut's southern suburbs began near midnight and continued into Sunday after Israel's military urged residents to evacuate areas in Dahiyeh.

Photos and video showed the blasts illuminating the southern suburbs, and sparking flashes of red and white visible from several kilometers away. They followed a day of sporadic strikes and the nearly continuous buzz of reconnaissance drones.

Israel's military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed

from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some intercepted.

The strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Rafik Hariri International Airport, and another building formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar. Social media reports claimed that one of the strikes hit an oxygen tank storage facility, but this was later denied by the owner of the company Khaled Kaddouha.

Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah claimed in a statement that it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers near the Manara settlement in northern Israel “with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately.”

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Saturday that Israel had killed 440 Hezbollah fighters in its ground operations in southern Lebanon and destroyed 2,000 Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah has not released death tolls.

Israel says it stepped up its assault on Hezbollah to enable the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to homes in northern Israel, bombarded by the group since last Oct. 8.

Israeli authorities said on Saturday that nine Israeli soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon so far.