A Hezbollah rocket struck a residential area in Nahariya on Monday evening, wounding at least six people and igniting a fire between two homes in the northern coastal city, as cross-border attacks from Lebanon again hit communities near Israel’s northern frontier. Israeli rescue services said the injured were lightly hurt, including two adults and four children, most of them suffering from smoke inhalation or minor injuries sustained while running to protected areas.
The strike hit shortly after sirens sounded warning of a combined rocket and drone attack on the Nahariya area. Emergency crews said the impact set two houses ablaze and damaged the surrounding area, prompting firefighters and rescue teams to work at the scene while local authorities urged residents to stay away. Initial reports put the number of wounded at seven, but later updates from Israeli rescue services and the Associated Press said six people were hurt.
The Israeli military said the damage was most likely caused by a direct rocket impact, not by a failed interceptor, clearing up early questions about whether an Iron Dome interception had gone wrong. Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Shay Klepper visited the site as officials assessed the damage and reviewed the emergency response.
The attack came amid a broader escalation on the northern front. Israel said on March 16 that it had launched limited and targeted ground incursions in southern Lebanon and that displaced Lebanese residents would not be allowed to return to their homes until Israeli civilians near the border could do the same safely. Reuters reported that the intensified fighting follows Hezbollah rocket fire that began on March 2 and has since expanded alongside the wider regional war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.
