11 hurt in attack on Israel; Israeli navy captures Hezbollah operative

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JERUSALEM (AP) — An attack on a central Israeli town early Saturday injured 11 people as Iran’s supreme leader vowed a punishing response to Israel’s attack last week and Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza and Lebanon.

The predawn strike on Tira was one of several barrages fired from Lebanon. Many of the projectiles were intercepted by Israeli air defenses as air raid sirens rang out in parts of the country throughout the day, while others landed in unpopulated areas.

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The Magen David Adom emergency service said 11 people were hurt by shrapnel and glass shards in a direct strike on a building in Tira, a predominantly Israeli Arab town. Footage showed significant damage to the roof and top floor of the three-story building and cars below.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group said Saturday that it had used missiles and explosive drones to target military and intelligence facilities in northern and central Israel.

It claimed responsibility for firing missiles toward the Israeli military’s Unit 8200 base in Glilot, on the edge of Tel Aviv, and for firing rockets toward military facilities in Zvulun. Hezbollah also said it had targeted central Israel’s Palmachim Air Base with explosive drones, saying they “scored precise hits on targets.”

Israel’s military did not confirm whether any of the three Hezbollah targets had been hit and said it had no comment on the group’s claims.

Hezbollah said the Saturday dawn missile attack directed at Glilot was in retaliation for the “massacres” that are being committed by Israel. Tira, is about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Glilot.

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Tamar Abdel Hai, a resident of Tira, said that the attack was frightening. “I call upon all the leaders in the Arab world and the leaders in Israel and to everyone who can help to end this war. It’s enough,” he said.

Hezbollah also said that its fighters fired salvos of rockets into northern Israeli towns including Dalton, Yesud HaMa’ala and Bar Yohai.

Israeli media showed images of damage caused by a drone that hit a factory north of Nahariya. The army said several drones crossed from Lebanon into Israel, one was intercepted but “fallen targets were identified in the area.”

Israeli planes resumed strikes on the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon overnight Friday, following a four-day lull in the capital.

The Israeli military also later confirmed it had captured a senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon. It did not name the detainee and said he was being investigated on Israeli territory.

Iran threatens more attacks

The early Saturday attacks may be only a precursor to a more severe strike against Israel.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, on Saturday threatened Israel and the U.S. with a punishing response over attacks on Iran and its allies following Israel’s Oct. 26 airstrikes that targeted Iran’s military bases and other locations.

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“The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front,” Khamenei said in a video released by Iranian state media.

A further attack by Iran, which has already launched two direct attacks against Israel this year, could push the wider Middle East closer to a broader conflict. Israel is already battling the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The fight against Hezbollah has weakened the group but has also taken a heavy toll on southern Lebanon and other parts of the country.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press journalists Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Shlomo Mor in Tira, Israel, contributed to this report.

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