Hezbollah drone attack

Israel’s top defense officials visit army base hit by deadly Hezbollah drone attack

From CNN’s Ivana Kottasová in Jerusalem and Dana Karni in Tel Aviv

Israel’s top defense officials have visited the army base in northern Israel that was hit by a deadly Hezbollah attack, vowing to investigate how the drone managed to evade Israel’s air defenses.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant toured the base on Monday morning, saying the attack was “a difficult event with painful outcomes.”

Four soldiers were killed and more than 60 others injured, including eight seriously, when the drone hit the Golani Brigade training base at dinner time.

The Golani Brigade is regarded as an elite Israeli infantry unit that has been deployed to southern Lebanon as part of Israel’s ground operation there.

Gallant acknowledged the threat Israel faced from drones, saying the government was “coordinating a national effort and working on developing solutions to help address the threat.”

The attack on Sunday was the second time in just two days that Hezbollah’s drones were able to penetrate deep into Israeli territory. The Israeli military on Friday intercepted one of two drones fired from Lebanon. A nursing home in the coastal city of Herzliya, central Israel, was damaged.

The chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, visited the base late on Sunday.

“We are at war, and an attack on a training base on the home front is difficult and the results are painful,” he said.