Israeli Chief of Staff Says Hezbollah Attack Was 'Painful'

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Sunday that the attack by the Shiite group Hezbollah on a military base south of the city of Haifa on Sunday was painful.

"We are at war and an attack on a training base on the home front is difficult and the consequences are painful," General Herzi Halevi told soldiers during a visit to the base hit Sunday night by the attack, which killed four soldiers.

Hezbollah, which has intensified clashes with the Israelis on the border between Lebanon and Israel since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, attacked a base south of the Israeli city of Haifa with drones on Sunday, killing four soldiers and injuring 67 people.

On Sunday, the collective of Shiite groups that make up the Islamic Resistance in Iraq also announced the launch of a drone against a "vital target" in Israel, in an attack similar to the one carried out on Sunday by Hezbollah.

"The mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq attacked a vital target in the Jordan Valley, in our occupied territories, in the early hours of this morning using an unmanned aerial vehicle," the Shiite group said in a statement on the Telegram social network.

The statement reiterated that this attack was carried out "in support of our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and in response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against civilians, including children, women and the elderly."

The statement did not disclose details about the target of the attack.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, made up of several Shiite groups, is part of the so-called "Axis of Resistance", also formed by Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels of Yemen, supported by Iran.

Since the beginning of the Israeli war in Gaza, on October 7, 2023, Iraqi formations have claimed responsibility for launching dozens of projectiles and drones against Israel, as well as against bases with a US military presence in Iraq and Syria.