Hezbollah strike on Tel Aviv wounds five and causes extensive damage
A Hezbollah missile attack on central Israel has wounded five people and caused extensive damage in the Bnei Brak and Ramat Gan area.
The attack on the Tel Aviv district on Monday evening followed Israeli air strikes on central Beirut in the past couple of days.
Military expert Fayez al-Duwairi, a retired major general, suggested to Al Jazeera that Hezbollah's drone was armed with the Malak missile, which he described as "highly destructive". Israeli media has however said Tel Aviv was targeted with a Fateh-110 ballistic missile.
The Israeli army said its air defence system intercepted the missile, but falling fragments had caused a fire and extensive damage to buildings in the area.
“A preliminary investigation of the air defence systems found that the interceptor hit a surface-to-surface missile launched from Lebanon at a high altitude, and broke it into several pieces,” the army said in a statement.
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“As a result of the interception, part of the missile hit the ground and caused damage and casualties,” the military said, adding that the incident is under further investigation.
Israeli police, on the other hand, said they received reports "of rocket debris falling in the Tel Aviv District", urging the public to avoid the area.
Israel's medical emergency service meanwhile said it has provided medical treatment for five people wounded by shrapnel, adding that a 54-year-old woman sustained severe wounds.
'200 children killed'
At least 35 projectiles were fired into Israel from Lebanon on Tuesday, some of which were intercepted, according to Israeli military statements. The Israeli air force also intercepted two drones flown into Israel from Lebanon, the military said.
Israel has stepped up its attacks on the Lebanese capital in recent days, targeting central Beirut three times.
On Monday evening, an Israeli strike on an apartment building in the densely populated area of Zuqaq al-Blat in central Beirut killed at least five people, according to the health ministry.
The Israeli military on Tuesday carried out several air raids across Lebanon, including targeting several southern villages with white phosphorus shelling, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).
NNA also reported that Hezbollah repelled advances by invading Israeli forces in south Lebanon, destroying three Merkava tanks and forcing a retreat.
More than 3,516 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and at least 14,929 wounded since the start of the conflict a year ago.
The UN said Tuesday that over 200 children have been killed in Lebanon since Israel escalated attacks targeting Hezbollah in mid-September.
"Over the last two months in Lebanon, an average of three children have been killed every single day," James Elder, spokesperson for the UN children's agency, Unicef, told reporters.
"Many, many more have been injured and traumatised," he added, highlighting that in the past two months, more than 1,100 children had been wounded.
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